


Chang Ai [ENG version]

by N3k00Ch4n



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Anal Sex, Boys Kissing, Drama & Romance, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Oral Sex, Secret Relationship, Spoilers, Violence, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:47:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 22
Words: 132,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25914580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N3k00Ch4n/pseuds/N3k00Ch4n
Summary: Adaptation of the fanfic originally written by mattandmello, who left the project eleven years ago and is unlikely to update it again, so they directly said that anyone can take or modify the fanfic as you like."Avatar: The Last Airbender" belongs to me only to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.SPOILERS ALERT! [Zukaang / Zuko x Aang] maybe I'll add some hardcore content later, I don't know... that's up to you.It could contain references to other fanfics that I have read and that have previously inspired me.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Zuko (Avatar), Haru/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Yue (Avatar)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 104





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Genre: Romance.
> 
> Pairing: zukaang (zuko x aang).
> 
> Originally I planned to continue the fanfic as it was, but then I realized that if I did that it was more than obvious that I would end up leaving the project aside or paused indefinitely as it has happened with other fanfics that I have translated or previously corrected. This time the plot will be different from the original, the first chapter I will write as it is by way of prologue and then I will make a whole timeline or situations prior to what we see in the first chapter until we reach the first chapter again. The prologue is going to show the situation that we see in the first chapter so I will have to change the plot and what happens in the next chapters, but I think you understand more or less what I'm saying, right? right?! *cri cri of the crickets is heard* whatever…
> 
> "Avatar: The Last Airbender" belongs to me only to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. “Chang Ai” does not belong to me either, it is an adaptation of the fanfic originally written by mattandmello, who left the project eleven years ago and is unlikely to update it again, so they directly said that anyone can take or modify the fanfic as you like (they wrote it down in the summary)

It was a calm and warm night at Western Air Temple, the Gaang had already finished dinner and now most of them were in their rooms (or in a tent made of earth as in case of Toph) preparing to go to rest after a long day. Katara walked down the corridor where the rooms were being lit by a candle, verifying that everyone and everyone were resting, she would go to their respective room after finishing their homework; However, fate made her change her plans when, in the middle of the trip, being more specific, she stopped at the door of Aang's room and could hear noises coming from inside. A deep, husky voice muttered something that was muffled by the door so Katara couldn't hear it, but she knew perfectly well who the owner of that voice was: Zuko. But... what was he doing in Aang's bedroom? It was not unusual for her to see how much time they spent together and how close they had become, but on the other hand, the waterbender did not want to accept or believe that the firebender had changed, yet for some strange reason, Aang believed him and even trusted him, that didn't surprise her, Aang trusted everyone. Katara could hear Zuko whisper something to Aang and the young airbender giggled, but his laughter was interrupted once she heard the noise of something hitting the nearest wall followed by a gasp.

_“What did that firebender jerk do to Aang?”_ Katara thought with a slight frown and a suspicious look on her face _“I knew it! I knew I shouldn't trust him!”_

Quickly and without even thinking twice, the waterbender slightly opened the room door, barely showing her face and was surprised with what she saw: Aang was cornered between one of the walls of the room and Zuko, who had an arm on one side of his head and his chest pressed against the young airbender one. He whispered something so low that Katara couldn't even hear it, Aang smiled and placed one arm over Zuko's waist and the other around his neck, bringing his face close so that his bright gray eyes looked directly at the golden orbs. Then the firebender did something that really surprised Katara, slowly leaned in and lightly brushed his lips against Aang's.

“Hey, don't tease me” Aang complained, his eyes were narrowed and he knotted his hands in Zuko's hair. The firebender smiled slightly before he bend down and again joined his lips with Aang ones in a new kiss.

Katara pulled away and covered her mouth with her free hand as tears moistened her blue eyes, she felt a whirl of emotions form inside her, she wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to pull her hair tightly, but she couldn't do it. She just... she could not... was unable to process what she had seen, Aang and Zuko... together? it was something to not believe, he always believed that Aang had a crush on her, why?... how could this happen?

After seeing what she had just seen, the waterbender realized that she could not stay there for another minute. She walked away from the room unobserved, somewhat illogical because everyone was sleeping, well, everyone except Aang and Zuko, who (from her point of view) seemed to be too "comfortable" with each other, and walked to her room in a trance.

Now, to know how was that Aang and Zuko came to that situation we will have to go backward little by little and see how they discover their feelings for each other.


	2. Chapter I: The fortuneteller

_A few months ago…_

Katara, Aang and Sokka were camping near a river sitting in front of a dull campfire, suddenly a large Se’tu fish jumped out of the river surface, flew through the air and landed with a splash in the water. Katara stood up when she noticed this and pointed with amazement at the spectacle that had just happened in front of their eyes, a smile was drawn on her face.

"Wow!" the Southern Water Tribe girl exclaimed excitedly calling her brother and her friend attention "guys, look over there" Aang and Sokka looked in the direction she was pointing. Sokka also stood up when he saw the spectacle, the fish jumped out of the water again in front of the group and miraculously, in slow motion, landed again in the river with a splash, Sokka looked at the fish with a slight frown.

“Agh is trying to taunt us!” the Southern Water Tribe boy shouted angrily “you are so going to be dinner!” he took his fishing rod and tried to throw the rod into the water without any success. He looked down wondering why the line didn't take off, then only there he realized that the line had disappeared, Sokka looked around

“hey! where's the fishing line?”

"Oh, I didn't think you would need it, Sokka" Aang said sheepishly as he blushed slightly and showed him an intricately woven necklace decorated with a red flower in the center, Sokka approached to the young airbender and looked at the necklace.

"Ah, it's all tangled up!" Sokka protested, annoyed that his fishing line had gone bad, Aang hastily got up from the ground.

"It's not tangled, it's woven" he corrected "hey, Katara. I made you another necklace, I thought... because you lose the other one...”

He paused briefly to show her the necklace, holding it in his hands as he showed his best and most convincing smile. Katara take back the smile smiling shyly before approaching to the boy and taking the necklace that he had bothered to make to her, perhaps it was not the necklace inherited from her mother but what counts is the intention.

“Thanks, Aang” she said taking the necklace “it's nice, I love it”

“Great, Aang” Sokka commented sarcastically standing up in front of his friend and sister “perhaps instead of saving the world, you can enter on the jewelry making business”

Aang puffed out his cheeks slightly annoyed.

“I don't see why I can't do both.”

Sokka snorted and go back to the river, where the se'tu fish continued their aquatic performance, tossing his boomerang into the water in an attempt to catch the fish before letting out a growl of frustration as soon as he saw the fish emerge from the water unscathed with a unmistakable look of satisfaction on his face.

"Stop taunting me!" He yelled at the fish as they continued to jump out of the water. He ran to the river holding a dagger, Aang looked at the scene amused until Katara's voice distracted him for a moment.

“So how do I look?” the Water Tribe girl asked, Aang slightly startled at hearing that question, he turned to look at her and an expression of embarrassment was drawn on his face, he stared at the girl and she smiled sweetly at him as she blushed and placed one hand behind her back and the other touching her necklace in a pose. Aang tried his best to be interested and swallowed nervously.

"You mean just your neck or all of you?" he asked awkwardly while scratching his nape embarrassed "I-I mean, because you both look great!"

Looking down at the ground a little embarrassed by how silly he looked at that moment, he heard some splashes and Aang turned his gaze towards Sokka who came out of the water holding a Se'tu fish, seeing the blush spreading across the young airbender’s cheeks he couldn't think of anything better to play a joke on him.

"Smoochie, smoochie, someone is in love!" Sokka scoffed as he makes kissing noises before the Se'tu breaks free of his grasp, slapping Sokka in the face with his tail and disappearing underwater.

Aang looked at Katara again, a slight blush on his cheeks, what if Sokka was right? what if he was really in love with Katara? no, he doubted it very much, since after Zuko rescued him from Zhao's fortress, the young airbender had had certain feelings towards the Fire Nation prince who was not able to describe what those feelings would be, appreciation? admiration? or maybe... love? yes, maybe it was that but… he wasn't quite sure if he felt the same way about him, he had rescued him from Zhao and they now had an enemy in common but that did not mean that their relationship as enemies changed and that they had suddenly become friends. However, Aang did not lose his hope.

"Uh, well, uh..." Aang stammered, he could feel blush dying his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

"Stop bothering him, Sokka" Katara yelled annoyed at what her brother had said "Aang is just a good friend," she petted the side of his head affectionately "a sweet little boy! just like Momo" she added as she petted Momo, who had found safety in Aang's shoulder.

Aang sighed a little upset, he smiled to his friend and thanked the dark skinned girl. Suddenly, Sokka emerged from the river empty-handed and with an annoyed expression on his face, Momo screeched loudly and suddenly jumped off the airbender's shoulder upon hearing a noise in the distance, he jumped onto a rock followed by Aang who also had heard that noise. He jumped onto the large rock to get a better look at the scene, pointed to the source of the commotion and urgently Aang called out his friends who were not far away from him.

"Someone is being attacked by a platypus bear!" He exclaimed aloud. A huge, wild creature with dark brown fur, body and head of a bear but the tail and beak from a platypus with a white "V" on its chest, stood upright on its back legs and swung toward a blue dressed man smiling cheerfully as he effortlessly dodged the large, deadly paws with his hands behind his back. The man managed to calmly step back, the creature (remarkably frustrated) continued his attacks as Aang jumped onto a rock behind it, his eyes fixed on the man who continued to smile as if nothing happened.

"Well hello!" the man said while dodging the platypus bear paws "it's a nice day, isn't it?"

“Make some noise! he'll walk away!” Aang yelled at the suspiciously calm man, Sokka and Katara approached to the scene unfolding in front of them.

“No, play dead! he will lose interest!” Sokka shouted, giving his opinion. The platypus bear swung its paws to attack the man once more, that calm man happily dodged another attack from the animal's paws.

"Whoa, that was close!" the blue dressed man commented laughing, Katara put a hand to her mouth and made gestures with the other hand.

"Run down the hill and then climb up a tree!" She yelled at him.

"No, hit him in the stomach!" Sokka said, moving a fist upwards.

"And then run on zig-zag!" Aang encouraged him after what the Southern Water Tribe boy said. Without taking his eyes off the dangerous creature, the blue dressed man screamed over his shoulder.

“Not necessary, everything will be fine!” the platypus bear tried to strike another blow, cutting a piece of wood from the trunk of a nearby tree, the man managed to dodge that attack that could have almost killed him. Aang jumped off the rock, spun around in the air, and landed on the ground, positioning himself between the man and the platypus bear, shoved the animal with a small blast of air-control, spread his hands out in front of him taking a fighting stance “wow!” that man exclaimed, the platypus bear rose more on its hind legs letting out a powerful roar, in that, Appa appeared behind the bear and roared causing the animal to be frightened, ejected a giant and stained egg, walked away from the Sky bison and swim downstream, Sokka picked up the egg and began sniffing it.

"Mmm, lunch!" he said, turning his gaze towards the man "you're lucky we showed up"

“Thanks, but everything is under control” the man replied laughing at him “don’t worry, Aunt Wu predicted that I would have a safe trip” he added as he clasped his hands and leaned slightly towards them, a look of confusion appear on Aang’s face.

"Aunt... who?" He asked, the man smiled at the young air nomad.

“Not who, Wu. She’s the fortuneteller of my village, it’s horrible to know the future if you ask me" he said to Aang. Katara began to ponder, looking aside as she thought about this new information discovered.

"Wow, that must be it" the Southern Water Tribe girl said looking at the man with a bright expression on her face, then added with enthusiasm "that explains why you were so calm."

"But the fortuneteller was wrong!" Sokka exclaimed, interposing himself between his sister and that man "you didn't have a safe trip, you almost get killed!"

“But it wasn't!” he said before retiring “well have a good day!” he said goodbye to them and started walking only to go back on his own steps as if he had just remembered something important “oh, Aunt Wu told me that if I met some travelers, that I should give them this”

He handed Aang a wrapped package that seems to contain a long, thin object that also looked suspicious. Sokka looked at the man suspiciously as he walked away, excited, Katara approached to the small group.

“Maybe we should go see this Aunt Wu and learn our future, it could be fun!

“Oh, come on, guys. Divination never makes sense! ”Said Sokka, raising her hands to the air. Aang quickly unwrapped that package that the mysterious blue-clad man had given them, turned out to be nothing more and nothing less than an orange umbrella, opened it and held it over his head.

“What do you know? look, it's an umbrella!” the young Avatar answered, at that moment, the sky darkened and it started to rain, a thunder roared over the rain that fell with intensity, Katara formed a water shield over his head to protect himself from the rain. .

"This proves it!" Katara said as she took refuge under the umbrella, Sokka held the egg over her head to protect herself from the rain.

“No, she doesn’t do it! you can't predict the future!” the Southern Water Tribe boy exclaimed aloud.

"Then I must assume you're not getting wet" Katara said, smiling slyly. Suddenly, Sokka lost his balance and the platypus bear egg flew through the air, trying to catch it; however, it flew a few meters through the air and fell on his head, breaking into pieces, making the egg yolk drip down his face. As the rain continued to fall uncontrollably, Katara huddled next to Aang under the umbrella, brushing her arm with his as she settled down, the young airbender pull away from her putting distance, the Southern Water Tribe girl noticed this and she lowered her head a little dissapointed, but she decided to put it aside... for now and stay sheltered under the umbrella while Sokka stayed away from them, drenched by a rain that seemed to have no end.

"It was obvious that she predicted that it would rain. The sky has been gray all day!" the warrior shouted at his sister and at the air nomad refugeed under the umbrella.

“Just admit that you are wrong and you can stay under the umbrella with us” the girl offered.

"Look, I'm going to predict the future now" Sokka said he stop walking and jumping in an exaggerated way,

"it's going to continue dripping" he added as they looked at the gray sky and the rain kept falling "see?"

Suddenly the rain stopped falling and the sky cleared a little. Aang leaned his umbrella down to watch the dramatic change in the weather, he gave the Southern Water Tribe boy a sympathetic smile.

"It seems that not everyone has that gift, Sokka" he said, turning his gaze to the front and resuming his walk.

A huge mountain came into view, with its top covered in white snow, and a small town at the base of the mountain also appeared. The Avatar team walked through the entrance into the village, turkey ducks quacking as they passed, they could see a strange man with gray hair dressed in a black robe standing by the round door of a large building.

"Aunt Wu is expecting you" the man in the black robe said to the three children who were approaching.

"Really?" Katara asked enthusiastically, the man dressed in black nodded and the trio entered inside the building, Sokka expressed his displeasure, they went to a room where there were three pillows on the floor on the right side of the room, the strange man closed the door behind them and a girl who seems to be Katara's age entered inside the room dressed in a pink robe and braids that sticks out of the sides of her head.

“Hello, my name is Meng and I’m Aunt Wu's assistant” she introduced herself, bowing slightly before the group, suddenly, her eyes widened, fixing on Aang, her gaze traveled from his feet to his tattooed head, his face… he wouldn't have over twelve or thirteen years old. As soon as Aang caught her attention, Meng outlined her best sultry smile and walked over to stand next to him, the young girl stopped a few meters from him, but still too close for Aang's taste “well, hello there~” she purred, Aang flinched involuntarily at the poor imitation of a sexy greeting.

"Hi" Aang greeted her feeling a bit awkward _"this girl is too close"_ he stepped back an inch, Meng's smile faded for a fraction at the boy's obvious discomfort. Seeing a small escape route, Aang dodged Meng and took a seat on the pillows, right next to Katara, realizing how close they were to each other, the young airbender moved his pillow a few meters to give himself some space, Meng raised an eyebrow confused by the strange display but she decided to downplay it and think about what to do to call Aang's attention.

"Can I get you some tea or some of Aunt Wu's special bean curd puffs?" Meng asked Aang who was looking away nervously.

"I'll try a curd puff" Sokka asked eagerly. Meng held up an index finger in a “hold on” gesture.

"Give me a second" the braided girl said as she looked away to Aang "what's your name, cutie?" the girl purred, smiling seductively.

"Aang" he replied with a bit of anxiety, turning his gaze away from her. Delighted by his response, the girl's smile grew even wider.

“Oh, that rhymes with Meng! and… you have very big ears, did you know that?” she joked. Aang covered his ears with his hands feeling offended at her comment, what was her damn problem? he didn't have such big ears, did he? a strong blush dyed his face and spread down his neck almost reaching his ears.

"I guess" the air nomad said awkwardly, Sokka waved his hand in dismissal as if not believing it and started to joke.

"Don't be so modest!" he said as he extended his arms outward emphasizing "they’re huge!" he shouted.

Aang glared at Sokka, blushing violently. Meng started to walk away, but before, she looked over her shoulder.

“Well, Aang. It was nice to meet you" she said, smiling mischievously "you are very nice" she added before leaving the room to look for the snacks.

“Likewise...” Aang murmured in a low voice, an involuntary shiver ran down his back shaking him _“I'm glad that is all over, it was really awkward. I didn't think I'd be able to keep a straight face that long"_ he thought, his serious face loosening and a throbbing pain penetrated his head _“agh great! now my head hurts thanks a lot, Meng!”_

"I can't believe we're here in this house of nonsense!" Sokka exclaimed impatiently.

“Try to keep an open mind, Sokka. There are things in this world that just can't be explained, don't you think it would be a good idea to know what might happen in your future? Katara asked her brother.

"It would be nice to have a tray of sweet bean curd puffs" Sokka replied. Meng walked slowly, approaching the room down a nearby hallway with a tray of sweet bean puffs, a door in the hallway opened and a woman dressed in green clothes approached her enthusiastically.

“Oh, Meng! Aunt Wu said that I am going to meet my true love, he is going to give me a panda lily” she said excitedly.

“That's so romantic!” Meng commented with a dreamy tone on her voice, she turned his gaze towards Aang and gave her a flirtatious smile “I wonder if my true love will give me such a weird flower” she added so that the young airbender could hear her.

"Good luck with that" this one said in a low voice. Trying to keep her laughter, that young woman asked.

"Is that the big-eared guy who Aunt Wu predicted you'd marry?

Aang stared at the two girls feeling that he was beginning to pale.

“Um... what are you talking about?”

Embarrassed by this statement, Meng shoved the woman aside and continued on her way. She approached to the small group, her eyes fixed on Aang, who turned his gaze towards a corner feeling a bit of discomfort, suddenly, she stumbled and Aang, seeing this, tried to help her to get up, accidentally holding their hands in the process. Both looked at each other for a moment and Meng blushed.

"Enjoy your snack!" She said as she turned around and left as soon as possible.

Sokka took the tray of puffs and prepared to eat one, only to be interrupted later by an old woman dressed in a yellow robe, her hair gathered in a gold ornament and excessively made up features, entered inside the room.

“Welcome, young travelers. Now which one of you is next? come closer don't be shy” Sokka looked away in complete uninterested and Aang turned his gaze to Katara, she looked at him and got up from her pillow.

"I suppose it will be me" the Southern Water Tribe girl said who walked towards the woman and made a small bow as a greeting, both of them left the room leaving Aang and Sokka alone, sitting on the floor with nothing better to do, Sokka began to taste the sweet bean curd puffs.

“Hmm... they are not bad; they are not bad at all” Sokka commented while chewing on the puff. He held the tray out to Aang “mhm?”

Aang rejected the tray as he turned to see the closed door through which the two women entered, Sokka gave him a puzzled and confused look, but he played it down, shrugged and continued eating, Aang tried to act casually but curiosity simply could take him and bring out the best of him.

"So… what do you think they are talking about there?" the young airbender asked, turning to see Sokka, who had his mouth full of bean curd puffs.

“Boring stuff, I'm sure of that. Love, who will she marry, how many babies she will have” Sokka replied.

“Yeah, maybe you are right, they’re just talking nonsense like that...” Aang told him, he thought of something to change the topic of conversation and finally added “well, I'll see where the bathroom is” he got up and walked away from there, Sokka lay down on the ground and relaxed eating another puff, while eating it, Momo appeared and stealthily took the tray towards him, the Southern Water Tribe boy placed his hand down to take another curd puff, but as soon as he opened his eyes he realized that the tray was gone. Aang walked down the corridor looking for the bathroom but stopped at a large door “hmm, maybe this is the bathroom”

He opened the door but stopped when he heard voices from the other side, he doubt if he should withdraw and let those people have privacy, but in the end he made the decision to stay and listen only for a couple of minutes and then he retired from there.

On the other side of the door, Aunt Wu led Katara to the center of the room where there were a couple of pillows, some huge bells, a golden bowl with different pieces of bones and a small fire lit in a stone circle, they sat down on the pillows facing each other. The old woman took Katara's hands and began to examine them carefully.

"Your palms are so soft; do you use a moisturizer?" Aunt Wu asked, complimenting the Southern Water Tribe girl.

“I actually have a seaweed lotion. I can get you a little if you want" she replied, taking a deep breath and her gaze connected with the fortuneteller excessively made-up eyes "so do you see anything interesting about my love life?”

Outside the room, Aang was curious to hear this question and pressed his ear against the door to hear more clearly, he was intrigued to know the answer that the fortune teller would give Katara, but at the other hand, he wanted to know who the person was. The one his friend was destined to spend the rest of her life with.

"I can feel a great romance in you, the man you're going to marry" Aunt Wu replied, excited, Katara encouraged her to continue.

"Tell me more, please!" she asked enthusiastically, the fortuneteller smiled kindly at the girl sitting across from her.

“I can see that the man you are going to marry is a very powerful bender, look for this man, meet him and you will be with him in no time. But you must wait for him to approach you first.”

Hearing this statement, Aang stood up and moved to go back through the same corridor to the waiting room. Sokka, who had been scratching his teeth since the air nomad left, looked up as he noticed Aang approaching the room from the way he walked.

"It seems that someone had a well deserved rest in the bathroom" Sokka said, taking Aang out of his thoughts, the airbender dropped onto one of the many pillows placed around the waiting room.

“Oh... yeah... in fact I was...”

Sokka grimaced in disgust, turned his gaze and raised a hand to tell his friend to stop.

"I am not interested in knowing that!" He exclaimed. Aunt Wu re-entered in the room accompanied by Katara, the woman watched Aang carefully for a few minutes.

"You there" the fortuneteller called "come with me" Aang followed Aunt Wu a little nervously, they left the waiting room and headed to the same room that Katara had previously been in. Four pillows were now located in the center of the room, surrounding a small fire. On one side of the fire was the golden bowl with different pieces of bones. Aunt Wu and Aang approached to the bowl and looked inside it “this is the most reliable method to predict the future” the fortuneteller explained to the young airbender “go ahead, choose one” she urged, Aang took one of the bones and took seat in front of the small fire “now, throw it into the fire” Aang looked at the bone but threw it into the fire without hesitating “the cracks that I read on the bone let me know your destiny”

A huge crack formed on the sides of the bone.

"Wow, that's a big crack" the young boy said as he saw her.

"I've never seen that before" Aunt Wu said, looking at the bone a little surprised to see something so unusual, more cracks began to form in the bone and it exploded causing small pieces to fly everywhere and sent a small explosion of flames to the roof. Aunt Wu and Aang covered their faces in surprise, the bone lay at the bottom of the fire and she looked at it fascinated “your destiny! this is incredible" she explained to the young Avatar "you will be involved in a great battle, an amazing conflict between the forces of good and evil, a battle whose outcome will determine the destiny of the entire world!"

Aang kept his gaze fixed on the pieces of bone and then raised his gaze to meet the fortune teller's eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I already knew that, but..." suddenly, Aang became a little nervous and shy as he blushed slightly

"Does it say something about... a boy... or someone special who is destined to be with in my future?” he asked as he arched an eyebrow in a puzzled expression. A look of surprise takes over the fortuneteller's excessively made-up features.

"Do you want to know if there is someone special you want to share your life with?" Aunt Wu asked curiously.

"Yes!" Aang yelled involuntarily, but then corrected himself "I mean no! I mean, I don't know... it's kind of confusing...” he added nervously justifying his behavior “you will see, Miss Wu...”

"Please call me, Aunt Wu" the fortuneteller interrupted him.

“Yes, you see, Aunt Wu... well, uhh... there’s a girl that I think I’ve a crush on, but I'm not sure because I've never been so close to one before” Aang told her “and now, a month ago, I met this boy, he saved me from a Fire Nation prison two nights ago”

“Hmm, so what happened between you and this boy?”

“As soon as we managed to get out of there, he was injured and was unconscious during our escape. I had to take him to a secluded spot in a forest far from the prison. Once we arrived, we talked and I asked him if we could have been friends but he did not answer me, he just threw a fireball at me and left me no choice but to run away” Aang replied “but... since that day, I cannot stop thinking about what he did for me, the way he almost risked his life to save me. I have a feeling that we made a connection that day... I have a feeling inside of me that I don't know what it is, I guess what I feel is... love. I don't know what to do, I'm still confused because I still have feelings for this girl, even if that feeling is small, but I also started to develop feelings towards that boy”

“Hmm... maybe the girl you still feel something for is not the person you are destined to share your life with. Let's see what the bone says...” she looked over the fire and found a heart-shaped piece of bone lying on the floor, the fortuneteller came up and took it “right here” she told to Aang holding that heart-shaped bone to examine it “it says ‘follow your heart and you will find true happiness with that special person’ do you think your feelings are true, young Avatar?”

“Yes, I think I like Zu... him, I like him a lot” Aang said correcting himself at the end before getting up from the floor with confidence. He thanked Aunt Wu for his help and left the room with a confident smile, the old woman smiled kindly at the trio stand in front of her as soon as they go back to the waiting room.

_"I hope you know what you're getting into, Aang"_ the fortuneteller tought. The Avatar team left the building and started walking down a nearby street in the direction of the city center, Aang walked alongside Katara, thinking about the conversation he had recently with Aunt Wu.

_“Follow your heart huh? that sounds easy enough, I already have strong feelings for Zuko and I’m almost sure that he also feels the same about me, but... if he felt something for me, then he would not have attacked me that day...”_

"Well, now you know for yourselves that fortunetelling is only a great and stupid fraud" Sokka spoke, taking the young air nomad out of his thoughts.

"You only say it because you are going to be unhappy the rest of your life" Katara replied.

Sokka abruptly kicked a stone near him, this rose through the air, bounced off a metal sign and ended up hitting him on the forehead, fell on the ground covering his forehead as he complained about the pain and stood up again.

"That doesn't prove anything!" the warrior shouted at his two friends who were laughing behind his back, the tone of his voice sounded agitated.

"Well, to be honest, I liked my predictions" Katara said, clasping her hands with emotion "it seems that certain things in my future will turn out well" she added slightly blushing.

“That's great news, Katara. I hope my predictions also work well” Aang said smiling at his friend, she looked at him curiously.

"Hey, what did Aunt Wu tell you about all this?" the Southern Water Tribe girl asked.

"Um... she said some things... like I'm going to be involved in a great battle" the airbender lied to her. The girl smiled and nodded in approval as she walked alongside him and Sokka, who lazily placed his hands behind his head showing boredom. They saw the villagers coming into view and as they got closer, they noticed that they were all still, looking towards a fixed point in the sky. The three of them turned their eyes to the sky in question, and to calm their curiosity, they approached to the blue-robed man they had met on their trip.

"What's going on with the sky?" Katara asked.

"We are waiting for Aunt Wu to come and read the clouds to predict the fate of our entire village" another man replied who, seeing Katara, turned his gaze to the sky.

"I can't believe that you trust their lives to the superstitions of a crazy old woman!" Sokka yelled at that surprisingly calm blue-robed man, Katara appeared behind her and put a hand on her brother's shoulder.

“Shhh! here she comes!”

Aunt Wu and that same white haired and black-robed man they saw standing that day at the door of the building appeared behind doors, descended a staircase, and the crowd stepped aside giving room for the two figures to pass, Aang and Katara stood next to each other smiling broadly when they saw the fortune teller and that man in the black robe pass close by. The crowd began to applaud the old woman, and while that was happening, Meng appeared next to Aang, surprising him.

"Hey, Aang" she said, pointing to a cloud in the sky "don't you think that cloud looks like a flower?" she asked softly, getting closer to him.

Aang blushed furiously and turned his gaze to where he saw Aunt Wu go.

“Uh, yes, of course, I guess...” the young airbender replied awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable to have that braided haired girl so close to him, he hurried to pass right next to her and stood next to his friends “hey, Katara, what's going on?” he whispered to the Southern Water Tribe girl as he leaned towards her.

Slightly annoyed, Katara asked him to be quiet and Aang's face twitched in annoyance and irritation at being silent and he crossed his arms over his torso. The group followed the villagers' gaze to the pagoda where Aunt Wu approached, looked up at the sky noticing an arrow-shaped cloud floating upward, pulled out a book, and analyzed it for a second or two.

“An arrow-curved up shaped cloud... there will be good harvests this year” the fortune teller praised “very nice harvests!”

"Yes, that's good news!" a farmer said to an elder woman, who he hugged happily. Aunt Wu continued studying the shape of the clouds.

"Wavy moon-shaped cloud... let's see..." Aunt Wu smiling said "it will be a great year for the twins!"

"Yes!" a pair of twins exclaimed in unison, high-five excitedly. The fortuneteller looked at the sky thoughtfully.

"And a cumulus cloud with a twisted pommel coming out of the end of it..." Aunt Wu spread her arms outward "the volcano will not destroy the village this year!"

The crowd cheered vigorously upon hearing this great news, Aang took a deep breath as he looked at Katara getting a little nervous, he honestly had no idea how the Southern Water Tribe girl was going to react to the question he was about to ask her.

"Hey, uh... Katara, since we got here, um, there's something I've wanted to ask you" he said a little nervously. Katara completely ignored him, she was too captivated by Aunt Wu and her predictions, so she ran to follow the fortuneteller, clearly not paying attention to Aang “whatever, it doesn’t matter...”if the Southern Water Tribe girl was not going to help him with his problem, then he would have to find another option and could not think of a better person to help him than Sokka “hey, Sokka. I need you to help me with something”

The Water Tribe boy didn't listen to him, he was busier trying to convince a man who had his hair and robes covered in dirt and grime that he needed to take a bath, but the man was reluctant to follow his advice.

"I don't care what that Aunt Wu told you! you will have to bath someday!” Sokka said to that man who was wearing that dirty orange robe, he did not answer, he just smiled and turned away from there “ugh, I can't understand what the hell is wrong with these people!” he turned his gaze towards the young airbender standing behind him “yes? what do you need now, Aang?”

"So, Sokka" Aang said feeling a bit nervous and embarrassed to have to ask his friend for advice for this type of situation “you know some things about love and girls, don't you?"

“Some things? you have come to the right place” Sokka replied as he placed an arm around his shoulder in a friendly way “but first, I need to know who the person is who stole your heart”

“W-well... it's something difficult to explain because... I think I like two people, a girl and a boy, you know?” Aang replied “but, I don't know how to call their attention or show them how much they care to me”

The airbender did not notice that someone was looking at them behind a wooden barrel and that someone was Meng, who began to laugh softly upon hearing that this boy was not only in love with someone of the same sex, but also he liked a girl and that girl could probably become her. Sokka noticed the braided-haired girl hidden behind a barrel and then looked at his friend.

"I think I know very well who you mean" Sokka said.

“You know it? and… do you agree with that?”Aang asked hopefully.

“Of course! you know? you don't have to worry about whether you like a pretty girl or just a guy, what you have is something completely normal” the Water Tribe boy replied, Aang smiled slightly at the idea that liking two people of a completely different sex it was not so bad after all “but seriously tell me who are those people who stole your heart and keep you so confused?”

"I can't tell you, but what I can tell you is that I need your help to call their attention or do something to show them what I really feel for each one respectively" Aang said.

"Well, all you have to do is go after both of them and not spoil things" Sokka advised him.

"But... how am I going to do that?" Aang asked a little confused by his friend's advice.

“One of the main mistakes that good guys like you make is that they are... too nice.”

"Are you telling me that being too nice is a bad thing?"

“Yes of course. If your case is that you want to call their attention, you have to act ufless as nothing they say matters to you in the least.”

“Well, alright... I'll try it” Aang replied, after saying this, Meng came out of her hiding place and walked slowly towards the air nomad.

“Hey, Aang. I was wondering if..."cMeng said but he cut her off.

“Alright. I'll put on practice what you told me, see you later Sokka!” he said as he started walking away from there, leaving braided haired haired girl a bit disappointed.

“Wow, that boy is really good” Sokka commented a little impressed by the sudden change of attitude in his friend.

While this was happening, Aunt Wu pushed Katara out of her building, she was already more than tired of answering the girl's concerns and doubts about her life and future.

"And you'll be fine as long as you have an scarf with you" the old woman told her, then shoved her out of the building, placed both hands on the round wooden door "that's all for today."

“Ok, ok. But, just one more thing” Katara said making the fortuneteller stop her action of closing the door.

"Okay, what is it?" Aunt Wu asked as she put a hand to her forehead to show her tiredness.

"Should I eat a mango or a papaya for tomorrow’s breakfast?" the Southern Water Tribe girl asked a little doubtfully.

“A papaya, bye bye.”

After saying these words, Aunt Wu closed the round door in Katara's nose, the girl sighed a little disappointed by that answer.

"Oh, but I hate papayas" Katara complained as she walked away from the building, she turned her gaze and noticed that Aang who was leaning against the wall of the building not far away from her.

“Oh, hi, Katara” Aang greeted her ufless “I didn't see you were there”

"Hello, Aang" she replied, glancing at him briefly, then heading towards a fruit cart.

"Whatever!" Aang said as he walked away from the wall where he was lying "I'm also busy with my own things!"

"Ugh, a papaya, please" Katara huffed at the vendor, taking a papaya from his hands. Aang casually approached to her with Momo sitting on his shoulder.

"So... papaya huh?" Aang said while pretending he did not care.

"Uh-huh, do you want some?" Katara offered him.

"You know me" the young airbender replied taking an apple from the cart "I really don't care what I eat" he added as he took a bite of the apple before paying for it.

"Okay" Katara said as she started to walk away "see you later" she yelled over her shoulder as she disappeared into a corner. As soon as she left the place, Aang spat out the apple in disgust.

“ _This is not working_ ” Aang thought feeling disappointed in himself “maybe acting ufless is not my style...”

He turned his gaze to a couple he had seen before in Aunt Wu's building, the man had just offered the woman something and for some reason, the boy imagined himself in the woman's place and Zuko in the place of the man when he saw how he gave her a very particular flower.

“Oh, a panda lily! how pretty!” the woman exclaimed cheerfully, the couple hugged and kissed passionately, Aang turned his gaze blushing at such a show of affection in public but that scene gave him a great idea, suddenly, he intervened between the couple and pulled them apart from each other, scaring them on porpose.

"Excuse me" he said, pointing to the flower in the woman's hands "where can I find one of these?"

Twenty minutes later, Aang looked for Sokka and once he found him (he was still trying to get into the minds of the villagers and was trying to convince them to come to their senses) they went to a field not far away from the village but it was located at the side of the mountain, the young airbender took Sokka with him with the intention of helping him find some panda lilies to give them to this person that the Southern Water Tribe boy understood that it was his love interest, but after looking for those flowers for a while, Sokka grew impatient and yelled at Aang as they climbed up the slopes of the mountain.

"I can't believe you dragged me here to find a stupid flower!" he groaned as he scaled the slope with Aang leaping over the rocks two at a time, but stopped halfway when he heard his friend complain and deflected the look at him.

“Wait, it is not just any flower, it’s a panda lily” Aang told him “I have seen it in action and, believe me, it works”

“Flowers are a good gift once you get married, but at this early age... I recommend that you keep your distance as much as possible.”

“My heart tells me that I have to look for one of those flowers” Aang said looking towards the edge of the mountain “and Aunt Wu said that if I trusted my heart, Ishe would be with the one I love. _And maybe if I give Zuko a panda lily, he'll know how much I care_ ” he thought, wondering if that really was the right thing to do.

“What?” Sokka exclaimed irritated by the "trusting" nature of his friend “don’t tell me that you also believe in such nonsense”

“Well, Aunt Wu hasn’t been wrong until now” Aang told Sokka, jumping towards and looking towards the edge of the mountain “why would she be wrong about love?” he pointed with delight at the edge of the mountain “look! up there on top of the mountain!” various panda lilies were growing on the edge of the mountain, Aang took one of the flowers and brought it to his nose to feel its fragrance, he opened his eyes only to see the lava filled the volcano and it seemed ready to erupt. Sokka appeared next to the young airbender and looked towards the volcano “oh, no, Aunt Wu was wrong!”

He released the Panda lily which fell and sank into the lava, burning instantly. Aang and Sokka stood on the edge of the volcano, both with pure shock evident on their faces.

“All those people think they are safe! we have to warn them!” the Southern Water Tribe boy yelled at him.

"We don't have time to walk!" Aang said to Sokka, he took out his glider "hold on tight!" he held Sokka forward who screamed in surprise and both took flight. By the time they reached the village, they found Katara standing in front of the fortuneteller's building rounded door, Aang put away his glider once he landed with Sokka on the floor and approached his friend a little worried “what's wrong?”

"Can you believe she won't let me back in, guys?" Katara said as she pointed to the building rounded door "after all the business that I've given her!"

"But even if you try, she won't change her mind" Aang said to his furious friend.

"I know" Katara replied, sighing softly "but still..."

“Well, we have more important things to worry about. Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano” Sokka interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. Slightly annoyed at being interrupted, Katara raised her finger accusingly towards her brother.

“Sokka, you tried to convince me that the fortuneteller was wrong before. It's going to take a long time for you to make me change… my… ming?” her eyes pupils narrowed in surprise and she staggered forward abruptly as the volcano rumbled violently. Aang and Katara looked up at the raged volcano pretty worried, which was emitting smoke from the top “oh no...”

The commotion in his voice was more than noticeable, the villagers mingled in the main square totally oblivious to the smoking volcano. Aang, Katara and Sokka ran to warn them with extreme urgency of the great danger that was approaching, the Southern Water Tribe boy raised his voice so everybody could hear him.

“Listen everyone, the volcano will erupt at any time! Aunt Wu was wrong!” Sokka yelled at the villagers nearby, a woman stopped walking and looked suspiciously at the Water Tribe boy.

“Yes, yes, we know very well that you don’t believe in Aunt Wu’s predictions mr. lover of science and reasoning” the woman said, taking a step forward, but Katara intervened in time.

“If you don't listen to him, then they will listen to me. I also want to believe in Aunt Wu and her predictions as much as you do, but my brother and Aang saw the lava in the volcano with their own eyes" Katara said to the villager, hearing this, the calmed man dressed in blue approached to them.

"Well, I listened to Aunt Wu's predictions with my own ears" he explained. Aang leaped onto the awning of a nearby building, urgently trying to call everyone's attention.

“Please you have to listen to us! everyone is in danger! and we have to get out of here as soon as possible, we can't trust Aunt Wu's predictions” all the villagers stopped walking and turned to see him “you are the owners of your own destiny!”

Another noise was heard from the volcano, the villagers seemed to be slightly alarmed now.

“Look at that! can your fortunetelling explain that sound?” Sokka asked, pointing to the volcano, which was ready to erupt, smoke rising from the top in great numbers.

"And could your science explain why it rains?" a man in red shoes asked him in an amused tone at the pathetic efforts of the Water Tribe warrior to try to reason with them.

“Yes! yes it could!”

The villagers walked away from there totally unconcerned about the volcano, Katara and Sokka looked at each other, the girl sighed a little dismayed and looked away at the villagers.

“They just would not listen to reason.”

Aang jumped down from the awning to stand next to Katara, be positive about the situation, and think of an idea that could help the village save itself from the impending destruction of the volcano.

"But they will listen to Aunt Wu!" He said to Katara.

"That's the problem!" Sokka complained.

“Well, but that problem is about to become our only solution, now we own our own destiny. First of all, I have to grab Aunt Wu's cloud reading book" Aang said, running to the building where the fortuneteller resided.

Sokka and Katara decided to go with him before the young airbender did something stupid, both stood in front of Aunt Wu's building trying to act casually, Sokka pretended to smile in front of the passing villagers, looked up at the top of the building and could see Aang appear on the roof with Momo and went up to the porch, right where the old woman's room was located, Aang went in and checked several drawers and furniture looking for the cloud reading book. Momo screeched making the boy jump who looked at his flying lemur friend.

"Shhh!" he whispered to the animal to shut him up “we don't want anyone to listen to us” as he continued to snoop, Meng's reflection appeared in the mirror that hung over the dressing table. Aang saw her reflection, startled and turned around. He stood up and Momo hid behind his back “oh, I didn't see that you were here” he smiled nervously, embarrassed to have been discovered, Meng looked at him with a sad face.

"You don't like me, do you?" she asked, her voice fraying as if it were a sad whisper.

"Of course, I like you" Aang reassured her as kindly as he could.

"Yes, but not the way I like you" he said with a pained face, the young air nomad realized what she was referring to.

"Oh, I guess not" he said in a slightly subdued tone of voice.

"Okay" Meng said, looking up as he smiled sadly at Aang, "it's really hard for you to like someone but without even knowing if he or she likes you and then you realize that it doesn't feel the same way about you”

Aang sighed, looking away slightly embarrassed, then he looked back to Meng.

"I'm really sorry, but I have feelings for someone else" he confessed.

"I know who you're talking about, she's really beautiful" Meng said to Aang, referring to Katara.

“Who?”

“That Water Tribe girl. I can see why you like her so much” the braided haired girl said and continued speaking while she counted Katara's qualities with her fingers “she’s sweet, she’s a waterbender and she’s so pretty, and her hair seems to be so manageable... not like mine” she added, trying to lower her braids but they were raised again like two branches attached to her head “see?”

“Oh, I understand, you were talking about Katara... yes, she’s very pretty, I don’t deny it and maybe I have an small crush on her but” Aang admitted when he saw that Meng's gaze dropped a little “but she’s not whom I really love, I have... I have feelings for someone else...”

“And who is she? Is she as pretty as the Water Tribe girl?” she asked curiously.

“Well...” Aang answered feeling a bit uncomfortable “this person is not exactly a girl, rather he’s... he’s a boy”

“Oh, I see, he's a boy you have feelings for. No wonder you were avoiding all my attempts to call your attention, now I feel silly for trying, since now I know that I will never have a chance.”

“Don't worry, Meng. Surely you will meet a great boy who will completely fall in love with you, I am sure of it” Aang said cheering her up, he turned on his steps ready to go but stopped and looked away at the braided haired girl “oh, and thank you very much for your help”

“Wait! don't you need this?”

Aang looked down in surprise when Meng handed him the cloud reading book, revealing that she had had it with her the whole time.

"How do you…?" the young airbender asked but she cut him off.

"Let's say... I've been stalking you" she confessed a little embarrassed while smiling shyly.

“Oh well. Thanks, I guess…” Aang thanked her before using airbending to go out the window and landed right in front of Katara and Sokka “I have an idea, but I will need Katara's help quickly! let's find Appa, let's not

waste any more time”

The three ran looking for Appa and as soon as they found the flying bison, Katara and Aang wasted no time and jumped to climb up on him. After that, they took flight and soared into the sky hiding in the clouds, Appa flew through the clouds with Aang and Katara on his back, the airbender taking control of the reins while Katara sat in the saddle, Sokka, on the other hand, stayed on land.

"We know that clouds are made of water and air, so if we work together, we can shape them any way we want" Aang said as he looked at Aunt Wu's book.

"I found it, the symbol of a volcanic catastrophe!" Katara yelled at Aang, she turned the book over, but kept her hand on the volcanic catastrophe picture. Both raised their arms in sync preparing to shape the clouds, Appa flew across the sky, leaned to the side and stretched out his legs dipping clouds below, Aang and Katara began using waterbending in the clouds to change their shape and they flew up, both on top of the saddle. The flying bison emerged above the clouds, Katara turned around and looked at Aang while giving him a smile, he waved his arms in a circular motion to shape the next cloud using his airbending. The villagers then looked up into the sky to see the clouds change shape, Sokka led Aunt Wu to the pagoda located in the center of the village.

“Aunt Wu look! something is wrong with the clouds" he informed the fortuneteller, who looked curiously.

“That’s so weird. I shouldn't…” she watched the clouds change shape, a shadow fell on her face as the sky darkened and suddenly, she put on a horrified expression “it can't be!” she exclaimed, a cloud that Aang and Katara were controlling took the shape from a skull as the mountain continued to blast smoke into the sky. Aang flew over Appa to approach the crowd that had just formed in the center of the village.

“We can still save the village if we act fast” he said pointing to Sokka who was standing in the pagoda “Sokka has a plan!"

"The lava will flow downhill to this place, if we could dig an opening deep enough, we could create a channel that directs all the lava away from the village to the river" Sokka informed to the villagers.

"If any of you are an earthbender, then come with me" Aang said, several earthbenders approached and the

young Avatar left with them "well, here we go" he said confidently. Trying to stop the volcano despite having the help of the village earthbenders, it was not an easy job and when they thought they would not make it, Aang could see a silhouette dressed in black with a blue mask with white details covering his face that suddenly appeared to help them, it was Zuko disguised as the Blue Spirit! but why did he come to help them? Before Aang could say anything, Katara and Sokka stood in front of him and adopt an attack position, the Blue Spirit took a few steps back and prepared to defend himself “wait, don't attack him! He is... he is a friend of mine and he came here to help us, isn't it?” he asked looking at Zuko who only nodded slightly, then Aang turned his gaze to his friends “he doesn't like showing his face to the public”

"Thanks for saying it!" Sokka exclaimed "because if you hadn't, we probably would have killed him!"

"There is no time to discuss this, there is a volcano to stop now" Katara told them, they immediately resumed their task of stopping the lava from the volcano.

Finally, after a long hour they managed to calm the volcano that was no longer erupting. Aunt Wu and the village people along with the dressed blue calmed man gathered to see the show, with the help of Zuko's firebending they managed to create a high and jagged wall in the form of lava towers that cooled around the village. Aang stood in front of the fortuneteller giving her the cloud reading book that he borrowed from her building.

"By the way, we borrow your book" he said shyly.

“So you've been messing with the clouds right?” Aunt Wu asked taking the book with an annoyed face, Katara felt guilty and Sokka smiled and pointed at her indicating that she also participated in the clouds manipulation, the fortuneteller only smirked “that was very cunning!”

"No offense, but I hope this serves as a lesson for those who depend so much on fortunetelling" Sokka said to the old woman.

“But Aunt Wu predicted that the village would not be destroyed, and it was. She was right, after all" the dressed blue man said.

"I really hate you" Sokka hissed through his teeth, Katara appeared behind him holding him by the shoulders and taking him away from there.

“Calm down, Sokka. Everything will be fine” she reassured him.

Aang looked at both siblings smiling, he began to look for the Blue Spirit to thank him for helping them save the village from the imminent destruction but as soon as he looked away to speak to him, he was already gone.

“Aang?” the young airbender startled at hearing Katara's voice calling him “what is it? what were you looking at?”

“Oh... uh... it's nothing, don't worry, Katara” he replied, Katara just accepted his answer and walked away from there, Aang turned his gaze for the last time hoping to find Zuko in the crowd but that never happened. Later that night, the Avatar team were sleeping in the bedroom of the villager's house that they were staying in, when suddenly Aang heard someone enter through the window, he woke up and looked at the shadow inside the bedroom, but when he was about to attack, he could notice the Blue Spirit mask illuminated by the moonlight “what are you doing here?” Zuko did not answer, he placed something on the small table in the bedroom, jumped out the window and ran away from there “wait! I have something to tell you!”

He looked at Katara and Sokka who were still sleeping, he jumped out the window and tried to catch up Zuko but he had already entered inside the forest, disappearing into the night. So Aang had no choice but to go back to the house, feeling a little sad that he couldn't thank the prince for his help and also that he couldn't give him a proper gift to show him how much he cared about him, by the time he get into the bedroom, he could see a small bouquet of Panda lilies on the table, it would be like four or six of them tied with a red bow and he also saw that the bouquet had a small note, he took the note, carefully look at it and read it in silence:

_"_ ** _給_** **_阿凡_** **_達_** **_和_** **_最後_** **_一個_** **_氣_** **_宗_** **_的_** **_禮物_**

_(A gift for the Avatar and also for the last airbender)"_

The next day, the Avatar team got up early and started packing their few belongings in Appa's saddle, they had to leave that village as soon as possible and resume their journey to the North Pole, Aang was finishing packing things that he had with him when he averted his gaze to Aunt Wu and something important appeared in his mind.

"May I ask you something, Aunt Wu?" the young boy ask her.

"Of course, darling" she replied.

"You always knew the volcano was going to erupt, right?" he said accusingly. Aunt Wu raised an eyebrow grinning at Aang.

"I will tell you a little secret, young Avatar" she said, crossing her hands behind her back "you see, I had the vision that a boy would come to this village and save its people from imminent death and that boy would not only be the Avatar but also one of the last airbenders, even though the air nomads died a hundred years ago, I knew that an airbender would arrive here, that the volcano would soon be activated. So, yes, I always knew, I didn’t want to tell you because I knew that would happen, I had to let fate take its course. It was your destiny to save these people, as it is your destiny to defeat Fire Lord Ozai” the fortuneteller explained Aang, smiling gently at him “only you have the power to save this world and restore peace”

Aang take back the old woman's smile thanking her again for her advice and all her help. Meng looked at him walk away from Aunt Wu standing next to Appa, she approached him, who shyly looks at the boy, the braided haired girl gasped when Aang suddenly hugged her.

"Thanks for everything, Meng" Aang said, pulling away from Meng and leaping towards Appa's saddle, while Katara took the reins. He smiled happily at the villagers for the last time on top of Appa “goodbye everyone! It was so nice to meet you!”

"Take care, Meng!" Katara said, greeting her and smiling happily.

"Take care of yourself too!" she replied, Appa turned away and flew away from the village "goodbye, Aang... I hope you're lucky trying to find your true love and I hope he treats you well” she whispered into the wind as soon as Appa was out of sight of everyone.


	3. Chapter II: Bato of the Water Tribe

Aang smiled, he _loved_ to kiss Zuko, the way he smiled at him, the way his eyes burned with desire, his beautiful, shiny golden orbs that conveyed so many emotions, and his lips oh! so soft and irresistible, he could not stop thinking about all the things they could do. Zuko slid his hands down the young boy sides who tightened his hands clasped in his dark hair, he smiled again before finally pulling away from him.

"Aang..." he whispered in a low but hoarse voice "you need to rest, tomorrow we will start with the firebending training”

But Aang was not going to let Zuko go, no sir, he had waited a long time to be with him like that and he was not going to wait any longer, the airbender clung tightly to the firebender as Zuko's hands drew Aang closer to him. To the ex prince's surprise, Aang deepened the kiss, this time he felt the boy's tongue lightly brush his lower lip and he opened his mouth, their tongues met, and both growled with pleasure. Zuko felt his body heat up and Aang felt the heat increase due to the speed with which his emotional state grew. When they finally pulled away from the kiss to breathe, Zuko took Aang's hand and led him to the bed, he placed the young airbender on it as he positioned himself on top, their hearts racing, their young bodies burning with passion, they looked at each other before closing the distance and joining their lips in a new kiss, the kiss felt so good, it was so hot and fierce, Zuko's doubts were dispelled and Aang, well, he began to remember his first kiss with Zuko and he blushed furiously...

The river water flowed hard crashing into some sharp stones that jutted out of it, the wind blew gently swaying the leaves, tree branches and forest grass, a trio of young teens walked along a trail looking for clues about the Southern Water Tribe Army whereabouts, Sokka and Katara had found a couple of objects a few days ago after they left the fortuneteller's village that could guide them towards them and most likely, perhaps they would meeet their father after so long without seeing him. Aang came down a hill with Momo flying over him and when he reached the bottom of the hill, he found another clue of the Southern Water Tribe Army: a rustic weapon with the traditional colors of the Tribe.

“Hey! this sword seems to be made with a whale shark tooth" Aang said when he saw that weapon stuck in the grass, he took it off and showed it to Sokka.

“Let me see that” Sokka said taking the sword from him and looked at it carefully, in that, a memory of when he was a child came to his mind, he remembered all the Southern Water Tribe men preparing to go to fight the Fire Nation, he immediately reacted and looked again at the sword in his hand “this is a weapon of the Water Tribe” he looked towards Aang standing behind him “check the forest and let me know if you can find anything else”

"Did any of you lose something?" Katara asked without understanding what was going on.

"No, we found something" Aang replied to the Water Tribe girl as he removed the branches of some bushes, Sokka removed some leaves from the path and found a Fire Nation broken arrow, he put his fingers on the sharp metal tip and noticed that it had a bit of ashes.

"It’s burned" the boy commented, looking the arrow and looked away at the trees where there were cut marks on the wood “it seems that there was a battle here, a group of Water Tribe warriors ambushed the Fire Nation soldiers, the soldiers counterattacked but they managed to push them down the hill”

Sokka started running down the trail and Aang and Katara followed behind, jumped over rocks blocking the

path, and stopped when they reached a small shore.

"And then what happened?" the young airbender asked as soon as he arrived with Katara to the shore.

“I don't know... the path ends here.”

“Wait! look over there!” Katara said pointing to the right, the three looked away to find a Southern Water Tribe primitive wooden boat docked in the shore sand not far away from the water, the wood was a bit wet by the pass of time.

"It's one of our boats!" Sokka exclaimed who, along with his sister, ran up to that docked boat.

"Do you think it could be dad's boat?" the Southern Water Tribe girl ask to her brother.

“No, it's not his. But it’s one of his fleet” he replied smiling.

On the other hand, the ship where Zuko was traveling in his quest to find the Avatar and capture him was docked on a dock not far from where the three young men who had found the stranded boat of the Southern Water Tribe were. He and his uncle were seated in front of a table that the teenager normally used for meditation, Iroh took care of heating a kettle with a little help from his firebending, he calmly poured two cups of tea, drank from his and passed the other cup to Zuko.

“You see, Prince Zuko?” the old man said after drinking from his cup of tea “having a little moment of calm is good for your mental welth”

Zuko looked at the steaming liquid in his cup without saying anything, for some reason, his mind led him to think about the Avatar, his friends from the Water Tribe, how he had risked helping them save a village in danger of being destroyed by a volcano with the help of his firebending and he also thought about the gift he had given him, something that made his heart beat thousand times per hour just remembering it. Why the hell had he done something like that? he was not sure, maybe he did it because deep down inside him he care about him? what a nonsense! of course not. He decided to distract himself by drinking the tea that his uncle had poured for him, but when he was about to do it, a strong jolt moved the ship and made the prince wet part of his face with that steaming liquid, annoyed, Zuko removed the tea from his face, he left the cup on the table and left the room to check was going on.

An enormous beast that seemed to be a cross between anteater, badger and star-nosed mole climbed up the ship and began to walk sniffing the deck. On her back was a girl dressed in black clothes, gloomy makeup, she had a tattoo on her right arm and part of her hair gathered in a bun, in one hand she held the animal's reins and in the other a whip.

"Get out of my way!" the girl shouted as the crew on the ship ran away from there.

“What do you think you're doing? get out of here!” Zuko ordered that girl a bit annoyed.

“Calm down, we're just making a little stop to find a stowaway” she replied.

“You are crazy, there is no stowaway inside my ship!” the Fire Nation prince replied, if he was so sure of that, then why did the beast that went with that strange girl ripped a piece of metal off the ship deck leaving the hold exposed? she stuck her head into the hole she had made and began sniffing around tracking a man and found him hiding inside a barrel. Seeing that beast, he got out of the barrel and wanted to run away but the beast stuck out her tongue and touched it, paralyzing him in matter of seconds.

"I can't believe it... it paralyzed him" Zuko commented slightly surprised to see that man lying on the floor, the strange girl got down from her furry beast saddle and took the man by the collar of his green robe.

"Only temporarily, the toxins will go away for about an hour" she replied, carrying the man as if he were a sack of potatoes on her shoulder "until then, he will remain in jail and I will have my reward."

"But how did you know he was inside my boat?" Zuko asked, stopping the girl, who was already placing the man in her beast's saddle and was about to get on it again.

"My beast, the Shirshu, can sniff a rat a continent away" the girl said, patting her gigantic furry beast on the back.

“Well, I must admit that I am impressed” Iroh commented when he saw the rudeness and determination reflected in that young woman when she catched the criminal who had hidden inside the ship, the girl gave a blow with her whip to the Shirshu and both got off the boat and walked away from the dock as the old man brought a hand to his chin and Zuko watched them walk away with a frown “very impressed”

After hearing what the strange girl (whose name he did not yet know) said, an idea began to appear in Zuko's mind, he already knew who could help him to trace the Avatar and capture him once and for all.

At nightfall, the Avatar team set up a small camp next to the docked boat on the shore, Sokka looked over the campfire without leaving his gaze from it while Aang and Katara rested, the young airbender slept huddled on one of Appa’s paws and Katara was inside her sleeping bag. The memories invade the Water Tribe warrior mind again, this time they were from when he wanted to go fight with his father but he did not let him go, because he was still a child and he could not go fight with them, he also remembered him saying that he would miss him and ask him to take care of his sister while he was gone and hugged him. He came out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps approaching the place where they were camping and stood up quickly.

"Who's there?" Sokka asked when he saw a silhouette in the distance, the silhouette advanced a bit more revealing a man with long brown hair and blue eyes with part of his torso bandaged and wearing Southern Water Tribe clothes.

“Bato?”

"Who's there now?" Aang asked somewhat asleep as Katara woke up and rubbed her eyes tiredly, she blinked a few times and managed to recognize the man who was standing a few meters away from them.

"Bato!" Katara exclaimed when she saw him, both she and her brother approached to him and hugged him.

“Sokka! Katara! I am so glad to see you again, and you have grown a lot” Bato commented hugging both siblings, Aang approached to them and greeted Bato respectfully.

“Hello, my name’s Aang” the young airbender appeared in front of the Water Tribe warrior.

"Where's dad?" Sokka asked Bato after breaking apart from the hug just like Katara.

"Is he here with you?" the Water Tribe girl asked looking at Bato with her eyes shining with illusion.

“No, he and the other warriors at this time must be traveling towards the Eastern Earth Kingdom” Bato

replied, icy wind began to blow making a shiver run down the back of both siblings “this is not a suitable place for a meeting, Come with me” without wasting a second, Aang, Katara and Sokka were guided by Bato to a building that looked very much like a temple, they entered through the central door and walked towards the courtyard “after they hurt me, your father took me to this Abbey" he told Katara and Sokka as they walked with Aang, Appa, and Momo behind them "the sisters have been looking after me since then" he approached to one of the Abbey women, the one who was a little older than rest “superior, these are Katara and Sokka, Hakoda’s children, they have been traveling with the Avatar. I found them camping next to my boat”

“Young Avatar, I am very glad with your presence” the woman said making a small bow in front of the airbender “welcome to our abbey”

"Thank you very much, it is an honor to be here and if you need..." Aang replied; however, he was interrupted by Sokka who was beginning to smell a pleasant scent in the air.

"What is it that smells so good, Bato?" the Southern Water Tribe boy asked to the man next to him.

"The sisters make ointments and perfumes" he replied, pointing to the huge vases placed in the courtyard.

“Perfume? really? maybe we should put a little bit on Appa, because to be honest, he stinks too much, right?”

“It seems that you have your father’s lousy sense of humor” Bato said to whom the joke had not been funny in the least, he guided Katara, Sokka and Aang towards his bedroom and when he opened the door, Katara was amazed with what she saw inside.

“Bato, it’s looks like our home!” the Water Tribe girl exclaimed who entered inside the bedroom with Sokka and looked everything that was around, even a small tent had been set up within that small space to give it an atmosphere a little more... typical of the Southern Water Tribe, a pot had been placed on the campfire and some steam emanated from it indicating that something was cooking inside.

“You are right, everything is here, including the doormats” Sokka replied, he knelt on the floor to touch one of the furs that had been placed as a carpet.

"Yes, nothing is more comfortable than sitting on a pile of dead animal skin" the young airbender said, looking uncomfortably at the skin of a tiger hanging on the wall. Momo approached to the head of a stuffed bear and extended its paw towards it, barely touching the muzzle, it closed almost immediately, scaring the small lemur who took refuge behind Aang's head. Katara approached to the fire and uncapped the pot to see its content.

“No way! these are stewed sea prunes?” the Southern Water Tribe girls asked when she saw that brown liquid with the already mentioned dehydrated fruits that was heating up in the fire.

"Go ahead, help yourselves" Bato told them, sitting down in front of the fire with them. Katara took one of the bowls placed next to the pot and began to serve the peculiar food.

“Dad could eat a whole barrel of this” Sokka commented, the Southern Water Tribe girl brought a bowl of stewed sea prunes to Aang but he disliked its scent and placed the bowl next to him in the on the floor as he sat a few meters away from Katara and Sokka, in that, Momo approached towards the bowl and started eating the prunes but he did not like that food either and spat it out closing his eyes in disgust.

“Bato, is it true that you and dad tied an arctic hippopotamus?” Katara asked curiously.

“It was your father’s idea, he just dragged me, to be honest, the hippopotamus was the one that dragged me.”

“Hey, I also know how to ride animals!” Aang commented wanting to be part of that little circle of friendship telling one of his stories “once, there was a giant eel and then I…”

"So, who came up with the big blubber fiasco?" Sokka asked, interrupting the young airbender.

“Do you really want to know?”

"We all want to know" Katara replied to Bato, smiling enthusiastically.

"What's that story about?" Aang asked, looking at his friends slightly confused.

“It's a long story, Aang. We will leave it for you for another time” Sokka replied making a gesture with his hand as a sign to shut up and stop interrupting.

“You and dad have had the most hilarious adventures” Katara commented without stopping to see Bato.

“Well, not all of them were hilarious adventures. But with time, everything becomes hilarious if you do a hindsight” the Water Tribe warrior replied, he stopped looking Katara and Sokka and looked up at Aang who was wearing an stuffed giant squirrel hat on his head “hey, Aang! leave that where it was, it's a ceremonial artifact and it's very fragile”

Aang obeyed, he took off the hat and left it hanging on the bedroom wall, he turned around and sat in a corner of the bedroom a little discouraged while his friends continued talking with that warrior. Honestly, he felt very out of place there and did not want to bother Sokka or Katara, after all, they hadn't seen Bato in a while and the best he could do was let them spend time with him.

On the other hand, Zuko went looking for the strange girl who had caught a criminal with her Shirshu beast on his ship that day, he needed to find her and ask her to help him track the Avatar, from what she said, that furry animal was able to detect the scent of a rat a continent away, and luckily he had what he needed to track the Avatar: the Southern Water Tribe girl’s necklace. After a long time searching, both (he and Iroh) found the strange girl's whereabouts, she was inside a tavern trying to beat a man in a competition to test her strength, which also included gambling.

“Get out of my way! take off, you filthy” Zuko shouted walking inside the tavern, in turn, Iroh apologized to those men for his nephew’s rude behavior, he approached to the table where the strange girl with the snake tattoo on her arm was sitting “I need to talk to you”

“Well, but if they aren’t my new friends, the angry boy and his lazy uncle” she commented sarcastically, Iroh laughed at her comment, the girl rested the man's arm abruptly on the table, thus winning the competition, the other men began to scream euphorically as they tossed coins.

"Your beast hurt my ship, you have to pay for what he did" Zuko said annoyed.

“Oh, well, it's a shame, I would love to help but I'm a bit short on budget” the girl replied as she collected all the coins from the table “drinks go to my account!”

"Money is not what I have in mind" the Fire Nation prince spoke with a threatening look and voice tone as he squeezed the girl's wrist tightly, she looked at him in the same way, if it was not money what he was looking for, then what on earth was what he wanted? abruptly, Zuko led the girl outside of the tavern, he took out Katara's necklace and showed it to her “listen, I need your help to find someone”

“Why? what happened? did your girlfriend run away from you?” the girl asked in a sarcastic tone of voice looking at the necklace and the Fire Nation prince.

“It's not the girl who owns the necklace I'm going for” Zuko said while still holding the necklace “I'm looking for a monk, she's only traveling with him”

“Whatever…”

“If you find him, I will consider the payment for the damage you caused to my ship.”

“Haha no! Forget it" she replied, resting one foot on the stirrups of her Shirshu's saddle and getting ready to climb onto it.

“We will pay you with your weight in gold” Iroh said, wanting to convince that girl not to leave, Jun (that was the bounty hunter’s name) changed her mind and agreed to help Zuko and his uncle to find the Avatar, she and her beast, the Shirshu led them towards him, well, more specifically to the Avatar’s friend, the Water Tribe peasant as Zuko called her.

He did not like thinking about her at all, how the two of them were probably already a couple, making his blood boil with rage and... jealousy? no, that not means was he jealous, much less of a peasant, but why did this not stop hurting him? while they were looking into the woods following the track that the Avatar left since the last time they saw each other, Zuko took out Katara's necklace and clenched it in his fist, now he wanted more than anything to fight her, he wanted to compete against her for the younger boy affection and prove that he was worth to deserve the Avatar.

It was too late at the Abbey and even so, Bato, Sokka and Katara were still talking sitting in front of the small fire that heated the room, they had already finished dinner and Aang was now sleeping in the corner where he had sat with Momo huddled together to the.

“There's something I want to tell you kids. I'm here to wait for a message from your father” Bato said to both siblings.

"Really?" Katara asked who was amazed to hear that news.

"When will it arrive?" Sokka asked, Aang woke up lazily when he heard Katara speak with so much excitement and he looked at her and Sokka a little bit tired.

“Any day, any time. Your father said he had sent me a message indicating where we would meet. If we wait here until the message comes, you can come with me and you will see you father again.”

Aang sat up and put on a sad expression upon hearing that news. What was Bato saying was true? did his friends plan to leave him to go to meet his father?

"It's been two days since we saw dad" Sokka said "that would be incredible, Katara! what do you think?”

“I don't know, I really miss him. It would be great to see dad again” the Water Tribe girl replied.

That only hurt the young airbender feelings who looked away and lowered his head, he got up from the floor, opened the bedroom door, left out from there and went to the Abbey entrance, he needed some time to think about what he would do now and what would happen with his friends, who apparently were more than determined to leave him to go to meet their father.

"Although we would like to see him, we can’t, we have to take Aang to the North Pole" Sokka said to his sister.

"Even if we have plenty of time to wait for this message, who knows how long it will take us to get there?" Katara said to Bato, wanting to support her brother "besides, we can't stay here for so long."

"I am sure your father will understand you and would be proud that his children were helping the Avatar" Bato spoke smiling sympathetically.

Aang was walking without a certain destination for a long time and this took him back to the shore where they found Bato's boat docked in the sand, he get inside it and sat on the bow observing the horizon, it was almost dawn, he felt his eyes fill with tears, he was unable to accept what he had just heard, the idea that his friends abandoned him hurt him too much and he even felt like crying because he did not want to be separated from his friends, but... maybe that would be the best, they should need to see their father, after all, they missed him.

“I can't believe they are going to leave me alone, Momo” Aang told to the little flying lemur that was by his side the whole walk until they reached the shore, he jumped down from the bow “I guess it will be better for them to go on their own journey without me and I go to the North Pole on my own”

At that, he heard a noise not far away from where he was and managed to spot an Earth Kingdom messenger who was riding an ostrich horse. As soon as he could see Aang, the messenger stopped the animal's footsteps and went down carrying a scroll in his hand.

"Is Bato from the Water Tribe here?" the messenger asked, looking at the young airbender.

“I know Bato.”

“Well, make sure he receives this” the messenger answered handing him the scroll, he got back on the ostrich horse and walked away, Aang opened the scroll in his hands and inside were the coordinates that would guide them to Hakoda, Sokka and Katara's father, for a second he seriously hesitated to go back with Sokka and Katara and bring them the map he promised to give to Bato, so he looked away and as horrible as it was for them, he should hide the map, they should not know the truth. Now he needed to resume his journey to the North Pole to find a waterbending master and begin his training as the Avatar, but before he had to go to pick up Appa so he started walking the trail back to the Abbey again to meet up with his flying bison. Momo followed behind and jumped up onto his shoulders, but as he was on his way to the Abbey he did not realize that someone was following him, or rather something, he stopped his track and started looking around and at the horizon, he met a girl dressed in black riding on an animal that seems to be a huge star-nosed mole anteater and behind her were Zuko and Iroh, apparently destiny wanted to change his plans. At looking at them, Aang had no better idea than to run as fast as he could, he could not face them on his own and he even realized that by running he was accidentally leading them to the Abbey, perfect! there he could warn Sokka and Katara and if they were still on his side, they could help him stop Zuko, that strange girl and the furry beast she was riding on.

In the Abbey the sisters were busy storing the ointments and perfumes that they prepared in small jars, when, suddenly, the Abbey central door break into pieces, the Shirshu entered through the broken door and advanced through the patio sniffing the ground and the air looking for Katara, but he did not find her there, her scent carried her back to the Abbey exit and extended into the woods, the creature turned around, left the Abbey and went to the forest to look for the Water Tribe girl. Meanwhile, Katara and Sokka went deep into the woods hoping to find Aang and find out why he had left last night without saying a word or even warning them that he would be leaving, they were both worried about him and didn't want him to get into trouble for being wandering alone.

"I can't believe Aang just left like this" Katara told to her brother as they walked down the path "why didn't he say anything to us?"

“I don’t know, it is like he felt bad because we have been ignoring him almost all day since we met Bato” the Water Tribe boy replied while continuing to look for his air nomad friend. At that, they stopped looking after hearing a growl not far away from them, Sokka instinctively put himself in a defensive position and Jun left the mount riding her Shirshu, for their bad luck, Zuko and Iroh were with her, the furry creature began to sniff the ground feeling the Katara’s scent and when she found her, she growled fiercely, Sokka stand in a defensive position wanting to keep his sister safe, there was no water nearby so that she could attack using her waterbending abilities. Jun grabbed her beast by the reins and watched the Southern Water Tribe girl from head to toe closely.

“So, she is your girlfriend, isn't she? I'm not surprised that she left you" the bounty hunter said with a mocking tone in her voice "she's too good for you”

“Where he is? where do you have the Avatar?” Zuko asked looking at both siblings with a frown.

"We don't know, he disappeared last night and we have no idea where he is" Sokka replied to the Fire Nation prince "besides, if we knew, we would not tell you"

“How stupid do you think I am?” the Shirshu stuck out her long tongue full of paralyzing toxins and attacked

Katara and Sokka with it, both ran to evade her attacks; however, it managed to reach them and hit them both with her tongue, paralyzing them instantly. Zuko got down from the furry beast's saddle and approached both siblings who were lying on the ground completely motionless “and now what will we do with them?”

“Wait, she keeps sniffing, she is looking for a different scent” Jun said to Zuko “it's probably the Avatar”

The Shirshu kept sniffing the air and that led them in the same direction in which they followed Katara, the Avatar was not far away, without wasting time, they carried Sokka and Katara on the creature's back and quickly returned to the Abbey. On the other hand, Aang was in the courtyard of the abbey adjusting the reins on Appa's horns and would soon resume his trip to the North Pole with or without his friends, in that, the superior in charge of the Abbey approached to him with a worried expression on her face.

"Avatar, you have to leave as soon as possible" she said.

“Yes, I know. Everyone wants me to leave, I think that would be the best...” Aang replied, finishing adjusting the reins on his flying bison’s horns.

"No, this time you have to leave, you are in grave danger" the superior said "recently some people came to the Abbey looking for you”

"Who were they?" the young airbender asked.

“A woman with a fierce expression on her face riding a horrible monster, she was not alone, a boy with a big scar was with her.”

"Zuko…" Aang murmured upon hearing his name, for some reason he felt his heart stop for a second just mentioning the Fire Nation prince damn it! this was not the time to have illusions of a silly and in love kid, now he needed to focus on what they were saying.

"The beast used an scent from a necklace to find you" the superior said.

“A necklace?” in that, the young airbender remembered the necklace that his friend had lost a few days ago and there all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place “Katara!”

He turned his gaze upon hearing the Abbey central door being knocked down again, the girl with a fierce gaze and her beast entered inside and began to sniff the ground looking for the Avatar. The sisters hid behind the pillars and perfume vases that were in the courtyard as they looked how the Shirshu circle the place trying to locate the Avatar without success.

“What the hell is doing now? She's only walking in circles!” Zuko complained when he saw how useless that creature was, at that, the Shirshu stopped and raised her muzzle from the ground to the sky, perceiving the the airbender scent in the heights, suddenly, Aang flew towards them with his glider, the furry beast stuck out her tongue and tried to attack the airbender, who evaded the attack and caused both Jun, Zuko, Iroh, Katara and Sokka to lose their balance and fall from the saddle, the Shirshu also lost her balance and fell sideways onto the floor.

"Aang, you came back!" Katara said when she saw that her friend had returned.

Jun quickly stood up from the ground, grabbed her whip and commanded her beast to get up, she climbed back into the saddle and ran towards the Avatar, but when she was about to catch him up, Appa came running up and shoved the Shirshu away from him causing her to hit a wall. Aang smiled when he saw that his bison had saved him from danger, but that was not all, he looked away and saw Zuko standing in front of him, fire emanating from his clenched hands. Aang stood in the Abbey courtyard, frozen in place while taking a defensive stance, there was a time when their eyes met and he was almost certain that Zuko would not attack, but he was wrong, the Fire Nation prince attacked first throwing a fireball very easy to evade, Aang dodged it and sent an airbending line towards him, soon his fight turned into a kind of dance, fire and air swirled around them as their bodies approached increasingly, his glider was lost during battle but that didn't matter to him now, Aang could fight perfectly without it. He knelt before Zuko's kick and when they found themselves at a standstill, fire and air exploded in sync, for an instant, the airbender fleetingly thought that was something beautiful; however, his thoughts vanished when that moment exploded in front of his own face... literally.

His back crashed into a roof several meters away from where he had previously been standing, he felt his vision blur and his head throb with pain from the impact, he regained and lost consciousness when he felt a wave of burning heat approach towards him, he looked up and could see Zuko was heading towards him with a line of fire coming out of his right arm, he almost didn't have time to dodge it, in fact, he was hypnotized by the way Zuko was looking at him, his eyes were transmitting intensity, almost as if they were stalking him, he jumped creating an airbending swirl to dissipate the fire that was approaching to him, he launched another airbending attack towards Zuko forcing the prince to crash into a wall, Aang counterattacked using the same attack that his opponent used and they continued with their battle-dance.

They ended up back in the middle of the Abbey courtyard, Aang tried to fend off Zuko's attacks again but Jun and her Shirshu joined the battle making the fight uneven, two-on-one was completely unfair, but the airbender was convinced that he could easily defeat them, all of a sudden the Shirshu stuck out her paralyzing tongue and attacked him with it, Aang managed to easily dodge it, he tried to escape but ended up being cornered by Zuko and his firebending attacks. Zuko smiled, finally his victory was close, the Avatar was cornered with no chance of escape, he had reached a dead end and Zuko was blocking his only escape route, Aang knew that he could use his airbending to jump up if he wanted but for some reason and for the first time in months, he was curious to know what the Fire Nation prince would do now.

Zuko looked at Aang but there was something different in his eyes, his gaze was different from the last time they had seen each other, after he had helped him save the fortuneteller’s village from the impending volcano destruction, something was missing, rage? maybe anger? determination? hate? Aang just hoped it was not the last, because to be honest, he did not hate Zuko, at least not entirely. The Fire Nation prince advanced towards the young boy who was distracted, lost in his own thoughts and suddenly, for no apparent reason, smiled.

"You are finally mine, Avatar" he said loudly enough for only Aang to hear him.

“Aang” he whispered, Zuko was confused and his smile faded “my name’s Aang”

"Aang" he said as if he was being tested, it felt strange calling the Avatar by his name. The young airbender was beginning to like the way Zuko said his name, it was completely different from how Katara or Sokka said it “Aang?”

“Yes, Zuko?” Aang asked, he was not afraid, in fact he did not feel too scared at the moment, he knew that he could escape at any time if he wanted but for some unknown reason, he did not want to do it, he did not want to leave from there, he wanted to stay there as close to Zuko as possible.

“I promise I'm not going to hurt you.”

“Then what are you going to do, Zuko?”

“I don't know..." he murmured.

"What do you want to do?" Aang asked.

“What do I want to do? I want to chain you and take you to my father. I want my honor, my throne but there is no chance of that happening...” Zuko replied, but the young airbender interrupted him.

“Let me repeat my question again. Zuko, what do you **_really_** want to do?”

"I want... I want..." unexpectedly, Zuko moved a little closer, closing the space between them "I want to kiss you" he whispered, but he wasn't sure if Aang could even hear him.

“So what are you waiting for? kiss me if that's what you want so much” the young airbender told him, Zuko could see how he closed his eyes and waited patiently for him to take the first step, the Fire Nation prince felt his heart beat strongly inside his chest and his face burned slightly, he never imagined seeing the Avatar surrender to him in that way but this was an opportunity he did not plan to pass on, decided, Zuko closed the distance that separated them and his lips joined against the boy ones in a soft kiss, without any intention bigger than that, Aang smiled slightly at the kiss and wondered if Zuko could feel his smile but Appa and the Shirshu's screams forced them back to reality and Zuko attacked him again, throwing another fireball that Aang easily dodged.

On the other hand, Katara and Sokka were leaning against the wall, both still paralyzed by the Shirshu's tongue toxins, trying to regain energy and get rid of these toxins, Sokka sent instructions to his brain and made an effort to raise his arm and miraculously began to move weakly.

"Hey, I'm starting to feel something come back to me..." Sokka said, but some debris fell from the roof on him and this caused him to emit a small groan of pain “ouch...”

Aang ran dodging Zuko's attacks, but that only led them to fight on opposite sides of a waterwell and that's when Aang saw it, Katara's necklace dangling from the Fire Nation prince wrist.

"You have something I want" he said, approaching to Zuko trying to take the necklace, but Zuko knocked down a structure from the well and both jumped to the thin walls, they began to perform a coordinated dance while trying to attack each other. However, Aang found an opportunity to slide onto Zuko's shoulder and leapt onto the prince's back, knocking him off the wall, grabbing Katara's necklace which he managed to remove from Zuko by kicking him with his foot, spun in the air and dipped into the well. A flurry of fire was thrown at him, but using his nearly-zero waterbending knowledge, Aang managed to send the water upward, all to make the prince get out of there and fall with a sharp blow to the ground and Aang came out of the pit. with grace.

Appa continued fighting the Shirshu but the beast had a great advantage on her because she used her paralyzing toxins against the bison immobilizing him, despite everything, he did not give up and tried to stand up weakly while furiously growling at the creature. Jun smiled defiantly and with a flick of her whip ordered her beast to take down Appa, something she did easily using a couple of attacks of her tongue to paralyze him completely.

Katara and Sokka got up off the ground with difficulty and leaned against the wall not far away from where the flying bison was, the superior in charge of the abbey came out with a small bottle in her hands, she opened the bottle and brought it closer to their noses, instantly they felt their senses come back and were able to move normally again.

"That beast perceives and sees with its nose, let's give it something that it’s capable of perceiving" Sokka said, remembering what happened to him and Katara recently in the woods.

"What about the perfume?" the superior suggested, upon hearing that question, a fleeting idea appeared in Sokka's mind.

Aang ran out, wanting to help his friends but a meandering tongue stood in his way.

“Quick! grab him!” Jun ordered to her Shirshu as she attacked Aang using her tongue full of paralyzing toxins. He screamed and backed away before a fireball prevented him from moving further away, he was surrounded, cornered against a wall with a giant, furry monster obstructing one escape route and a Fire Nation prince blocking the other escape route. He looked from side to side wondering how he would get rid of that situation.

"You promised me that you weren't going to hurt me!" Aang yelled at Zuko.

“Sorry, I guess I lied” he replied but when he was about to attack the airbender again, he saw Katara moving something behind him and the bounty hunter and screamed when she saw a wave of perfume spill over them, including the Shirshu, who went mad for all the scents she was sniffling and she ran awkwardly out of the Abbey.

Aang took this opportunity to get closer to where Katara and Sokka were, he looked back praying that at least Zuko would look at him one last time but he fell motionless to the floor after the blow he received from the Shirshu's tongue, his gray orbs fixed in the prince's silhouette as long as possible, but someone placed a hand on his shoulder calling his attention and as he turned his gaze he found his friends standing behind him.

"We went to the forest to look for you, because we were worried about you" Katara told Aang.

"We thought you had left us or that you had lost or that you were in danger" Sokka said wanting to contribute a theory to his sister's sentence.

“I'm sorry to have worried you guys, but...” Aang said, he put a hand inside his robe and showed them the scroll he received last night “a messenger gave me this for Bato, you have to understand, I was afraid that you...”

“It’s the map that would take us to our dad!” Sokka exclaimed seeing the coordinates drawn on the scroll “and do you have it with you all this time? how could you?!”

“I'm sorry I hid this from you, but I was afraid you would leave me to go to see your father” Aang told them “I heard you and Katara talk about it last night”

"Aang, I understand that you are afraid, but we would never leave you" Katara said trying to comfort him.

“Also, how the hell did you think we were going to leave you?!” Sokka asked, he was still annoyed with him for having hidden the map that would have taken them to the other Southern Water Tribe warriors all this time.

“I understand what Aang is going through, I felt the same when the Southern Water Tribe warriors had to leave me behind. That pain was much greater than what I can bear from my injuries” Bato told them, Sokka remembered again the day when the warriors and their father left the Water Tribe “I know they want to see your father more than anything in the world, but helping your friend is the most noble thing you can do”

“You are right, I want to go to see dad but helping Aang is the most important thing” Sokka told him, then he approached towards Aang “but don’t hide information behind our backs or leave without telling us”

Aang did not reply, he just accepted his friend's warning and nodded, Bato approached to the young airbender, Katara and Sokka.

"Your father will understand, and I know he is going to be proud of you" Bato said as he placed his hands on Sokka and Katara's shoulders and looked at Aang.

“Thank you, Bato” Sokka thanked him smiling as did his sister.

"I know where to go from here" Bato handed them the scroll that contained the coordinates that would take them to the Southern Water Tribe warriors campsite "take this with you if you want to find us. I'll leave a message at the meeting point”

Aang smiled at Bato one last time and after letting his friends say goodbye to him, he grabbed his glider and climbed into Appa's saddle, flew off leaving the abbey behind once they were a few meters off the ground , Aang directed his flying bison towards the sky trying not to look back and also not to look at Zuko, who unexpectedly kissed him and then ended up paralyzed on the floor of the abbey courtyard, gave a big sigh trying to regain his composure, that kiss ... that kiss had felt so good, he could feel sparks flying inside him, something he had never experienced before.

" _It was more than obvious that you would feel that way, after all, that was your first kiss_ " a small voice inside his mind said, but Aang tried to ignore it and turned to see his friends.

"So where are we going now?" Aang asked sitting on Appa's neck.

"We're going to take you to the North Pole" Katara said kindly, Aang turned to look at them in surprise.

"Yes, we lost too much time" Sokka spoke with a small smile and it was true, they had lost too much time fighting against Zuko, Jun, the bounty hunter and her Shirshu. Aang stood up and sat next to Appa's saddle looking at his friends above it with his eyes wide.

“Are you sure? aren’t you interested in seeing your father?” the airbender asked curiously “because I can take you there if that's what you want”

“Of course, we want to see him, Aang” Sokka replied looking at the Avatar “but you are also our family and now you need us more than ever”

"And we need you" Katara said, even though she wanted to see her father with all her heart, she knew that helping her friend was her highest priority. A part of Aang felt warm and happy for her sincere words.

"I wish I could give you a part of your home, Katara" Aang said feeling a bit sorry for her.

“Don't worry, I'll be fine" Katara interrupted him.

"Besides, I could give you a little trinket" he said, taking out her necklace and offering it happily, a smile appeared on his face even if it was somewhat forced.

"Aang" Katara exclaimed removing the necklace from his hand and putting it on "how did you get it?"

"Zuko asked me to give it for you" Aang replied sarcastically.

"Aaaw, that's so cute of Zuko" Katara said dramatically putting one of her fingers on her cheek while smiling, Aang knew she was only joking when she said that "could you give him a kiss for me when you see him?"

At that question, Aang could not help but blush and remembered the kiss he shared with Zuko a few seconds ago. Yes, why not? after all it was a kiss from a girl, it's not like he was really going to kiss him again or something like that right?

"Sure" Aang replied the Southern Water Tribe girl approached and placed a soft kiss on the young airbender’s cheek, he felt a small blush appear on his face but it was not for the actions of the girl he had put on like this, but to remember again the kiss that Zuko gave him. Now part of him wanted to see the Fire Nation prince again and kiss him. He had to admit that if Zuko hadn't found Katara's necklace, they probably would never have found it and they would never have kissed and even under those circumstances, Aang was grateful to the Fire Nation prince for having the necklace on him because that meant that Katara was able to get it back and that she was no longer so upset.

He raised his gray eyes to the horizon, looking at the sunset and wondering what Zuko was doing right now, for the love of Agni, he was already starting to miss him, what the hell was wrong with him? What was this strange feeling?

A small smile appeared on Aang's face causing Zuko to break the kiss they were sharing and look at the young airbender with a small expression of confusion. Aang's smile faded as soon as he saw the expression the firebender put on.

“What? what's going on?”Aang asked him.

"I just wanted to know... why are you smiling?" Zuko asked to the boy as he lay down on the bed with Aang by his side, the airbender turned his head to look him at the eyes.

"I was just... I was just thinking about the moment we had our first kiss" Aang replied as he laughed softly as he remembered the situation "I can't believe I had to ask you what you really wanted, just that way you could literally kiss me!”

“Yes, I also couldn't believe that you had to do something like that and that you let me do something like that” Zuko replied while laughing with Aang “but...” he took one of his hands between his and brought it to him “but I have I have to admit that if you had never asked me what I really wanted, I might never have kissed you and I wouldn’t have discovered my feelings for you.”

"Me neither, if Katara had never lost her necklace, you probably never would have found it and if that had happened, maybe you and I would not be together" Aang said as he squeezed Zuko's hand tightly but at the same time gently, the Firebender smiled at him one last time before settling into a comfortable position.

“Al right, I think that's all for now. Let's get some rest, we have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Yes, maybe we should rest. Good night, Zuko” Aang replied, he turned around and put himself in a comfortable position to sleep, once the airbender fell asleep, Zuko slowly wrapped an arm around Aang's waist and pulled him towards him in a warm hug and with that position, having the young boy at his side, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck as he climbed the metal ledge that led him to his ship, glaring and scornful at any crew member who tried to approach or ask what was wrong with him, he crossed the ship deck, headed to his bedroom, opened the metal door and closed it violently behind him, he walked to his bed and took the pillow covered in black silk on top of it.

“ERGH” he shouted hiding his face in the fabric, the sound was muffled on the walls of his small bedroom, he screamed against the pillow for a few more minutes to vent his anger and dropped it with a frustrated sigh. He took off his armor and tossed it to a corner of his bedroom without even worrying about placing it in the closet, he stripped off his clothes except for his underwear and linen pants before collapsing onto his bed, leaned to the side, he took the pillow and hugged it tightly to his chest as he stared blankly at the door to his bedroom, how he wished he could have Aang's body in his arms and not just a simple object, he still didn't believe he had done something like that! what the heck had get through his mind to have the crazy idea of wanting to kiss the Avatar? maybe it was just one of the younger boy's tricks and then teased him but he had not done such a thing, also, Zuko could see how hurt he felt when attacking him when he himself had sworn that he would not hurt him “I'm an idiot” he muttered to himself, holding on to the pillow tightly.

He had no idea how or at what moment it happened, but after a few minutes he contemplated nothing than his bedroom door, Zuko felt his eyes close with exhaustion, finally they closed, and he fell asleep.

_He woke up seeing everything blurry at first, blinked a couple of times and when he managed to see clearly, he noticed that sunset was still present in the sky, but that was not the only thing he found strange, he could feel a hand smaller and softer than the his own brushing his chest, tracing his muscles until it reached his erection who was confined in his pants. He looked up at the owner of that small hand and as he did so, a cute smile and a pair of gray eyes met his golden ones._

_"Aang?" Zuko said incredulously when he saw the young airbender there with him in his bedroom doing, well... that kind of thing “you... what... what are you doing here?”_

_Aang did not reply, just focused on releasing his erection from his pants and being the only one who could touch it in such an erotic and intimate way, Zuko groaned, closed his eyes and pressed his hands tightly against the sheets of his bed as he let do. The young airbender moved his hand from the base of his cock to the tip and slowly slid it down the length, running it with great care and dedication, he repeated the same movements over and over again, Zuko's moans grew louder and began to move his hips unconsciously penetrating with his member the warm passage that had formed in the minor's hand, he got up with a little difficulty, but that did not stop him from approaching Aang and kissing him, his lips pressed hard against his, their tongues intertwined and their bodies grew closer and closer. The little monk imprisoned Zuko's erection in his own hand, he had total and complete control of the prince while rubbing his small erection against his hip. Their bodies brushed together in the sunlight that afternoon, their breaths intermingled as their passion overflowed, grew, and their erections brushed lightly creating a pleasant, burning friction between them._

_"Z-Zuko..." Aang finally spoke between moans as he continued to brush his own erection against his hip “Zuko, this... this... feels... s-so good...”_

_"I know… but whatever happens, don't stop, please" Zuko told him, Aang nodded and continued to move his hips simulating thrusts against the Fire Nation prince hips. Zuko could not help but moan loudly as he threw his head back, reached out and took Aang's small erection by sliding his hand up and down the length of it, applying the rhythm the monk had used on his own cock ,he was close, they were so close to climaxing, he just needed something extra to be able to reach the edge. He moved his hips faster and faster as Aang moved closer to his face and pressed his lips firmly against his scar, whispering his name as if it were a mantra while kissing gently and tenderly the damaged skin and finally, he reached his limit and cum right into the airbender's hand._

Zuko suddenly woke up realizing that it had all been a dream, but as soon as he looked down, he noticed his cock slowly becoming deflating as some of his cum trickled down his abdomen. Damn it! he had just had a vivid and erotic dream with the Avatar! and it was not only the Avatar but also a kid for the Agni’s sake! what the hell was going on with him? he quickly moved to the other side of the bed and fell asleep again as the sun fell on the horizon giving way to dusk.


	4. Chapter III: Clearing misunderstandings.

Katara was laying on her bed staring at the ceiling of her room, she hadn't slept all night. She just lay there trying to fall asleep, but it wasn't working, so she got up from her bed and started walking around the room, she couldn't stop thinking about something other than what she had seen a few hours ago, He still had a hard time assimilating the fact that Aang and Zuko were… they were, well, a couple. She tried to fall asleep lying on her bed looking at the window, sitting on it but nothing happened.

_“For some reason, it hurts me to know that Aang chose Zuko instead of me”_ Katara thought still sitting on her bed, her mind recalled the scene when she discovered them making out a few hours ago _“but... it was logical that something like this was going to happen, I mean, Aang and Zuko have been spending a lot of time together and I see them too close, almost as if they were lifelong friends, but… if that were true, Aang would not have kissed me on the day of the invasion. I will have to talk to him and clarify my doubts_ ”

After thinking about this decision for a while and preparing to ask Aang what she planned to ask him, Katara finally felt tired and her eyes were beginning to close so she went back to her bed and tried to get some sleep. The waterbender woke up shortly before the sun appeared, no one else had woken up yet, she went to the hall where the fountain was and began to prepare breakfast for everyone, she did it in the most calm way possible so the rest of the Avatar team won't wake up. She began to cook robotically, automatically, without any effort on her part as if she were doing everything in a structured way.

On the other side, Zuko woke up as soon as the rays of the sun appeared in the sky and slightly illuminated the room, he looked down and smiled when he found Aang sleeping on his chest, he was so adorable, he had completely forgotten that the kid was still there with him. He didn't want to wake Aang up, so the firebender stood there looking at him sleep and thinking about everything they had been through so they could finally be together, he could continue like this all day if it was not for Aang starting to wake up. Realizing this, he looked away and blushed at the thought that perhaps the airbender realized he was watching him, they had both spent very little time sleeping after their make-out session, they had spent most of the night awake talking about their past, neither of them was sure at first whether to give up or give themselves to the other, Zuko because of his pride and Aang because of his duties as the Avatar.

The young boy began to wake up, rubbed his eyes to clear his vision and looked up only to meet Zuko... red as an apple.

“Z-Zuko?! now what happen to you? do you have a fever?” the airbender asked shamelessly receiving an angry look from Zuko, how dare that kid receive him that way when he woke up?

“What do you think? I expected a ‘good morning’ at least!” Zuko scolded him, fading his blush instantly.

"Good morning, sorry, Sifu Hotman" he apologized with a smile on his face.

“Good morning to you too, Aang” Zuko said smiling, he stretched and got out of bed “I'll go see if breakfast is ready”

“Okay.”

Zuko smiled one last time before leaving the room and walking towards the room where the fountain was. Aang took a little longer to get out of bed, but after a few seconds, he got up and went to the fountain room where the firebender was waiting for him for breakfast and then they would begin their firebending training.

Katara had already finished preparing breakfast and was now looking for the bowls to serve the food, when she noticed that Zuko was walking towards the same place where she was but he was not alone, Aang joined him a few minutes later, both of them blushed guiltily like if they had done some kind of mischief. Once again, the scene of the two of them kissing invaded Katara's mind but she decided to downplay it and started serving them food.

“Good morning, guys” Katara greeted them trying to act as normal as possible “breakfast is ready, eat before it gets cold”

"Good morning to you too, Katara" Aang greeted her but he could notice that something was wrong with her "uh are you okay?"

"Yes, of course I'm fine, why do you ask?" the waterbender asked as she passed a bowl to Zuko and then to her friend, the airbender.

"Because you look tired and you have dark circles around your eyes" the young boy said while pointing to his own eyes.

“Oh, I think I didn't realize it before and maybe I didn't sleep well last night, that's all.”

"Okay" Aang replied, for a few minutes neither of them spokes again and after the airbender finished his breakfast he spoke again "Katara, um, Zuko and I are going to start our firebending practice."

“Oh, okay but could you stay here just a moment? I need to talk to you alone for a minute” Katara asked as kindly as possible.

"Sure," Aang replied, he looked away at Zuko, "you can go to the training place, I'll catch up with you later."

"Well, I'll wait for you there then" Zuko left the room and Aang looked at his friend with concern.

“Katara, I saw that you're not okay. I want to know what's going on with you” Aang said approaching to her while placing a hand on her shoulder trying to calm her down.

“Don't play fool with me, Aang. Because I already know everything.”

“What are you talking about?”

"You and Zuko! I saw you guys having a make-out session last night!" Katara exclaimed angrily "how could you do this to me, Aang? all this time I thought you were in love with me, but you preferred to choose Zuko instead of me”

"And for what reason should that bother you? what's wrong with me preferring to be with Zuko and not with you? also, if that's all you wanted to tell me, then you better not talk to me, I have to start firebending training and I don't want to be late.”

The young airbender turned on his heels and started to walk away from the room where the fountain was to meet Zuko at his training place, but Katara grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"To me, Aang, he is the reason why I think everyone who is from the Fire Nation is evil and untrustworthy" Katara said to the airbender in front of her.

“Zuko is not responsible for your mother's death, someone else killed her and you know it.”

“Of course I know, it's just that my hatred towards the Fire Nation is so strong and I still can't believe that Zuko joined our team after the betrayal he did to his uncle and us in Ba Sing Se and I can not believe that now you are… how to say it? his boyfriend. Seriously, I can't accept that he has changed for the better.”

“People change, he’s good now, you have to believe me, and you must believe him.”

“Yes, I have seen him because he agreed to be your firebending teacher so that you can face his father, but...”

"No, Katara, it's more than that! I know well that he is a good person because... well, because I love him” Aang told her, Katara was about to say something but the airbender interrupted her “I can love him and I do, he showed me more love during these months than you you've never given to me!” Katara looked at him as she covered her mouth in surprise and tears began to form in her blue eyes. What was he talking about? that meant he and Zuko… were lovers before he decided to join on their team? Aang realized that he had hurt his friend and tried to comfort her “sorry, Katara. I didn't mean it, it's just that...”

"No, it's okay, Aang" Katara replied indifferently "you were right all this time, my past left me emotional scars and I don't think I'm capable of loving someone in the same way that you do. Furthermore, Aunt Wu predicted that one day I will meet a powerful bender and marry him”

“I'm sure you will find someone who makes you happy” Aang said “what about Haru? he is a great earthbender, he needs to improve his skills, but he could become a very powerful bender one day”

“Maybe you're right about that” the waterbender said feeling better with her friend's words “it's fine, you can go to train with Zuko now, I won't stop you anymore. Don’t you want to make him wait too long, do you?” Aang thanked her and ran off to the training site where Zuko was waiting for him to begin their firebending practice. Katara smiled and shook her head slightly before resuming her task of serving breakfast to the rest of the team, but, suddenly, she stopped when she saw some black dots approaching where she was “oh no...” she murmured, the bowl fell from her hand and crashed into the ground breaking into pieces, what she most feared came true: the Fire Nation war globes had found them and are now preparing to attack the Western Air Temple. She turned her gaze to the other rooms in the temple and ran to wake up the others and tell them what she had seen.


	5. Chapter IV: The deserter.

Zuko was sitting in front of his ship window looking the sunset behind the horizon, his eyes could be fixed on the sun that descended little by little until it gave way to dusk but his hands were tightly closed in a fist, that same afternoon, Admiral Zhao came to his ship with the message that he was organizing an expedition to the North Pole to capture the Avatar himself and that he planned to take the Fire Nation prince crew with him… that bastard! how could he dare to take his entire crew without their consent? Also, there was nothing he could do, Zhao's decision was already made and he had already informed everyone to join him on his expedition, including the cook.

He could not help but feel his blood boil with rage, so he tried to think of something else to calm himself and his thoughts led him to the person who was present in his dreams at night and haunted him during the day, a person he could not have, the person he was destined to capture to regain his honor and that person was nothing more and nothing less than the Avatar himself. Aang, that twelve-year-old boy full of life and joy, he could not believe it, but yes, he had started to develop a strong feeling for him, at first he thought that he was just confused and that it was not possible, but after they had met, after their first kiss, he realized that what was wrong with him was not a simple confusion, he was not imagining things, he loved him, he loved Aang, he no longer had any intention of capturing him to win his father’s approval and acceptance, he wanted to capture the Avatar but this time he would keep it just for himself.

“Oh, Avatar...” Zuko sighed as he rested his head on one of his hands without taking his gaze away from the sunset that was gradually disappearing; however, he snapped out of his thoughts when he heard someone knock on bedroom metal door.

“Prince Zuko” the unmistakable voice of his uncle, General Iroh, sounded from the other side of the door “I just came to tell you that there will be a Fire Nation festival in a village not far away from where we are docked” Zuko did not reply, he just sat there, sitting at his place listening to what his uncle had to say to him “and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me, local Fire Nation festivals are more entertaining than the ones in the capital, well I can't say Fire Flakes taste the same but you know what I mean” there is still no answer from the teenager “please, nephew. You will make an old man very happy, you know that I haven’t went to a Fire Nation festival since Lu Ten died” silence invaded the already tense atmosphere that was between them “or if you want you can stay here, I will leave you in peace”

Zuko heard his uncle's footsteps walk away from his bedroom, he remained seated in his place with his hands gripping the fabric of his pants tightly, closed his eyes, he took a deep breath and finally he made a decision.

"Uncle, wait!" Zuko said to the old man before he left the corridor "I think... I think I'll go with you"

“Perfect! thank you for accepting this invitation” Iroh told him “but first...” Zuko blinked in surprise when his uncle looked through his tunic and brought him a small mask “you have to wear this”

“What's that?” Zuko asked looking at the mask that his uncle was holding in his hand, the mask was finely crafted, much better than the masks that someone could buy in common festivals, it was made of fine porcelain, some details decorated the top and wore a serious facial expression, Iroh had also placed a mask around his head.

“Everyone must wear a mask at the festival, you can't join if you're not wearing one.”

"Okay, I'll do it" Zuko said taking the mask and then closing his bedroom door so he could change his clothes and put that mask around his face.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aang, Katara and Sokka were walking along a path in search of the nearest village, the three of them were exhausted but Sokka, in addition to being exhausted, was also hungry. After walking around for a while, the Avatar team stopped in front of a stone post that had some posters stucked to it, they approached to them and began to look at them.

"This should give us an idea of what's around here" Katara said to her brother and her friend as they looked at the posters.

“See if you can also find a menu” Sokka said while trying to get some crumbs out of a food bag without any success “I'm starving”

“I bet we'll find something to eat here...” Aang said pointing to a poster that had the drawing of a red and gold dragon, a building and a giant torch “the Fire Days festival, the Fire Nation is exhibiting jugglers, firebending masters, wizards this would be a great place to study firebenders up close!”

“Well, I would think twice if it were you” Sokka said looking at the other side of the stone post “look at this” the Southern Water Tribe girl and the airbender went to the opposite side from where Sokka was and they both could see a wanted poster with a drawing of Aang and Chinese letters written on the sides, there was also a Blue Spirit poster underneath it “a wanted poster, this is bad”

"I think we'd better keep moving" Katara suggested once Aang removed that poster.

"I have to learn firebending sometime and this might be my only chance to see the benders up close" Aang said, Katara considered it a bit but finally agreed.

"I guess we could go and see" the Southern Water Tribe girl said, turning her gaze, Aang smiled when he heard his friend change her mind.

"What?!" Sokka said incredulously "you want to enter on a Fire Nation village when everyone is ready with all their…you know, fire?"

“We could disguise ourselves” Katara said trying to find the positive side as she walked away from there, Aang started to follow her but stopped as soon as he saw the Blue Spirit wanted poster, he quickly took it out and hid it before someone else saw it , he couldn't believe that his dear friend was being hunted by the Fire Nation “and if we see that there is a problem, we will leave”

"Sure, because we always leave before we get into any trouble" Sokka muttered to himself, turned around and started walking behind his sister and Aang, Appa followed them with Momo sitting in his saddle.

After a few minutes walking they reached the village that was not far from where they were standing.

“Okay, guys. Stay out of sight while we go to the festival" Aang told to Appa and Momo, the little lemur emitted a coo before disappearing hiding behind a huge bush, Appa mimicked him but he hid behind the bush instead. After that, Aang, Sokka and Katara dressed up, the two Southern Water Tribe siblings put on dark cloaks that covered part of their bodies, and Aang... well, he tried to improvise but it looked weirder than before.

"You seem to be a completely different person" Sokka commented, looking at the boy with a sarcastic expression.

“Maybe I can improve that” Katara said, looking for another cloak and gave it to his friend “here, better put this on, so you will not look so strange” once ready, the Avatar team went to the village to attend the Fire Days festival, when entering the city they could see bright colors, children running through the streets with fireworks in their hands and adults walking through the festival looking at the different stalls, but there was something different about them and that was what they used some colorful masks “I think we're going to have to get new costumes”

"Where are we going to get masks like that?" Sokka asked, the three of them turned their gazes to a mask stand settled down for the festival “well that was surprisingly easy”

They purchased some masks for the festival, Aang put on a painted red, yellow, white and black mask with a sad look, Sokka chose a yellow and blue mask with a happy expression, and Katara chose a a woman's expressionless mask, he looked at her brother and the air nomad and changed their masks. After paying for the masks, the three of them began to walk looking at the rest of the festival stands.

"Hey, there's some food out there" Aang said to Sokka, pointing to a food stall not far away from them.

"Finally!" Sokka exclaimed relieved as he ran towards the food stand "what do you have?"

“Flaming Fire Flakes” the man replied as he brought the steaming bag towards Sokka “the best in the village”

“I'm taking them” the Water Tribe boy said, immediately he took the bag and began to devour the flakes, but immediately dropped the bag and a little smoke came out of his mouth when he felt the itch of the flakes burning his throat.

"Flaming Fire Flakes... hot" Katara crooned smiling as she looked at her brother fan his tongue like a complete fool.

"I'm going to take a look around" Aang said who disappeared into the crowd.

“Aang, no. Wait a minute! we have to stay together” Katara exclaimed trying to stop him.

“Wow look at that! a swords demonstration! ”Sokka said looking at the performance with amazement.

"Sokka wait!" Katara said, letting out a frustrated sigh and running after her brother. At least Aang knew how to take care of himself and not get lost in big crowds, he could meet his friends later, if Katara left the other boy alone, he would probably call an entire Fire Nation army attention to attack them.

The young airbender started walking around the festival looking for something that could call his attention, luckily it did not take him long, he could see a large group of people gathered around a bonfire dancing, he stood close to the crowd staring at the people who danced and sang, he knew that dance perfectly: it was the sun dance. A circle of trained dancers, men and women who knew the correct melodies and movements, helped to loosen the tense atmosphere, in the center of the crowd, dancing near the bonfire, there were several women, also trained but well above the level of the other dancers. Aang recalled that a long time ago, his friend, Kuzon, explained to him that the sun dance required many years of training before the dancers could be selected to participate in the performance. The women were dressed in pieces of cloth that jumped and floated around them as they danced to the rhythm of the music, those cloth pieces seem like an extension of flames coming out of their own bodies, between the two circles of dancers, people approached, watched or danced the best they could, some people just enjoyed the festival and mingled with the rest of the crowd, Aang knew that there was a very important person who had the power to do whatever he wanted until the music faded away: the Fire Lord. For each melody they played, a crown was placed on someone's head marking him or her as the new festival Fire Lord, at least until the melody was over, participants could ask for anything they wanted and were was granted, the current melody stopped causing the dancers to interrupt their dance.

The circle turned to the center, clapping enthusiastically, the women in the center of the circle did not stop moving and continued dancing despite the lack of music in the environment. After a moment, one of them took a step forward, circled the fire, bowed deeply and advanced towards the crowd, Aang watched as she approached a little girl who was even a little younger than him, the dancer removed a circular crown from her head and then squatted to remove the mask from the girl thus revealing the last festival Fire Lord face, the girl screamed with excitement and the dancer walked away, she began to search for the next participant through the crowd, Aang looked around quickly, a part of him wanted to join in the dance but he also wanted to blend in a bit more with the crowd before he could do it. He adjusted his cloak and began to walk through the crowd, when, suddenly, he caught sight of a boy in simple clothes and a finely decorated mask looking at him, for some strange reason unknown to him, Aang could feel the piercing eyes of the young man through his mask looking at him deeply, almost as if he was stalking him, at feeling that sensation, the young airbender could not help but remember the moment when Zuko approached to him, looking at him in the same way before they... a blush dyed his cheeks at the memory of their first kiss and turned his gaze.

On the other side, Zuko was leaning against a nearby wall thinking angrily that this trip to go to Fire Days festival had been a total and complete waste of time, he could have stayed in the his ship bedroom with his thoughts about the Avatar and try to put together some new way to catch him but, unfortunately, he had to agree to his uncle's invitation and go with him to the festival, it was simply something that he could not avoid, as his uncle told him, the Fire Days festival was also a Fire Nation tradition like it or not, something similar had happened last year: his uncle somehow managed to convince him to make a little stop so that the men could enjoy that festivity and Zuko knew that would always happen every year, no matter where he was. Of course, once he goes back home, he could hardly discuss that subject, the Fire Days festival was one of the most exuberant festivals of the year. Zuko remembered going to one of these festivals when he was a child, enjoying the games and food, his favorite part was the sun dance and it did not take long to find it in that small village. He stood against a wall not far away from the crowd, but close enough to see the show in front of his eyes hidden behind that mask that his uncle insisted he wear, as he looked at the dancers, his mind took him back to her memories, he remembered seeing that dance before with his mother, she described the dancers of the sun dance with such awe, she knew their movements almost well enough to join in dancing with them, but her duties as the Fire Lady prevented it. Zuko had always been one of the first to receive the flame crown, marking him as the temporary Fire Lord and one of his favorite “orders” had always been to approach to one of the dancers and take it out into the crowd to invite them to dance with him. He shook his head trying to clean those memories, that had happened a long time ago and the best he could do with those memories was to try to forget them, the past had to remain in the past no matter how much it affected him, he returned to observe the show in silence as the people danced, the light from the bonfire reflected some details on the ceramic or wooden masks, one of the dancers from the outer circle noticed it and smiled at him, beckoning him to come closer, Zuko took a step backwards rejecting her cheekily and crossed his arms across his chest. The music ended and Zuko could see the crown being removed from the current Fire Lord, the dancer lifted her mask and the man she was with took a step forward stealing a kiss and before anything else could happen between them, they both smiled and ran out of the circle, eager to continue enjoying their night.

There was a moment of pause when the dancer moved away to crown someone else, suddenly, she caught sight of a child with a smiling blue mask surrounded by yellow feathers passing by, his golden eyes meet those ones of the boy behind the mask, he blushed and turned his gaze away. Zuko began to wonder what kind of inappropriate things he was thinking so that he turned his gaze like that, he looked back at the boy and decided to approach to him, once he was standing behind him, the Fire Nation prince reached his hand to his shoulder to call his attention but that only made him jump into a defensive position.

“Hey, relax. Don't be afraid” Zuko said reassuring the masked boy in front of him “I just wanted to take you to dance with me”

"What?" Aang said with his face still hidden under that blue painted mask with a happy expression with yellow feathers all around.

“What you heard. Come with me, let's dance” the Fire Nation prince replied, he took the boy's hand and led him to the circle where the dancers and the rest of the crowd were.

For some reason, Aang felt a warm contact when he took the stranger's hand, his heart began to pound inside his chest and he could feel a blush form on his cheeks again, the dancer returned to her place and the music began to play. ringing again, that child had no idea how to dance and Zuko noticed this with a dry smile hidden under his mask. He moved like an animal, jumping, screaming and moving his arms in all directions, that seemed to lack any kind of sense but without a doubt it contrasted very well with the mask he was wearing and everyone who danced around him laughed at his movements so funny but at the same time exaggerated, maybe he knew how to dance but had chosen not to do it well. After a few minutes, the boy paused, his masked face quickly scanned the crowd, Zuko felt his body tense as soon as he saw that cheerful and youthful body approach him, the crowd turned away from him and the dancers, thus giving them more room to move, two of them moved behind the boy who extended one of his small hands with the palm up as if he was offering an invitation to the exiled prince. Zuko began to move his head to all sides, looking around, seeking help, most of the people were watching him even some of the sun dancers were smiling at him from afar but no one did anything to help him get out of this painful situation. He remembered that he had also once done the same, had taken the hands of one of those personified flames so that it came to dance with him, he reacted and finally took the masked boy's hand in his own, his hand was cold but that contact It didn't bother him, in fact, it felt good, it was like a small piece of ice that cooled the warmth of his own hand and once he tightly grasped the prince's hand, he went back into the center of the circle again, Zuko felt his other hand was taken by the hand that the child had free, catching them between his and the two turned slightly dizzy, he laughed a little enjoying the strange and unusual dance.

That dance was nothing like the rehearsed choreographies performed by the sun dancers, but something more... primitive, their limbs and bodies little by little moved according to the rhythm of the music or freely, without any kind of restriction. Aang could feel the same sensation that he experienced that time he fought with Zuko in the courtyard of the abbey and they ended up "dancing" on top of the waterwell, the closeness of that stranger's body felt familiar, as if they had already been together that way before.

The temporary Fire Lord took Zuko's hands, turning him from time to time, causing dizziness that had recently faded to resurface. Zuko was slightly disappointed when the music ended, he dropped his arms and turned his gaze at the sun dancers as one of them stepped forward and came closer to show her sincere respect to the flame, but the boy took a step away. He quickly placed that cheap metal crown on the ground, grabbed Zuko's wrist, wrapping his hand around it and disappeared into the crowd. The only expression Zuko could put on at the time was one of surprise, or at least that was the only thing he could do to avoid stumbling and falling at the moment as he was dragged (literally) into the darkness, away from the bonfire.

They reached a small square far from the lights and bright colors of the festival, luckily there were no people around so they would not risk being discovered. They sat on a bench next to each other, Zuko's mind was in an emotional chaos, he had almost forgotten that that child who had separated him from the crowd was nobody except for a dancer, a citizen of the Fire Nation who he was enjoying the festival, probably the son of an army man who was trying to cheer up the people who lived in the village and bring a ray of sunshine to their dark and depressed lives, but then he could notice that the boy's clothes were colorful, not They were red like the typical Fire Nation garments and glimpsed underneath that dark cloak that he wore to keep his identity hidden.

_"No…"_ Zuko thought as his golden eyes pupils shrank at the mere thought of the mere possibility that this boy could be _“impossible, he could not… he could not be… but if he is who I think he is, then he should have spoken first, he should have spoken and showed his face! he doesn't even know who I am! he has to know it, yes, he has to know it”_

“Hey” Zuko was taken out of his own thoughts when he heard a youthful voice calling him, confirmed, he was more than sure that that boy was Aang, the Avatar himself “the reason I brought you here was because I wanted to tell you that you are not a bad dancer, you did quite well there”

“Thanks, you too. I mean, I don't think you're not good at dancing, of course you are! But... maybe you could do it better” Zuko said, lowering his gaze, for the spirits, why was it easier for him to talk when he was fighting with the Avatar?

“Oh well, thanks, I guess…” Aang thanked him as he played with the fabric of his cloak holding it tightly between his hands, his feet kicking the ground hard due to his nerves, the atmosphere between both young boys was so tense that it could be cut off with the edge of a dagger. Surprisingly, the airbender slowly brought a hand to his leg and placed it there, once again, Zuko shuddered and he could feel his heart pounding inside his chest as a strong blush covered his face, he took a deep breath in a tried to calm down, since when did he start to feel so nervous and uncomfortable at the mere presence of the young boy? he had never felt anything like this, not even when they met at the South Pole the first time he saw him. He needed to know, he had to ask that masked boy if he was the Avatar, he could not continue with this doubt forever, but before he could even say anything, he was interrupted by the young boy sitting next to him “I have something to tell you...” for a few seconds, Aang did not look at the banished prince, he only devoted himself to look at the fabric of his dark cloak which he held tightly between his hands, he turned his masked gaze towards Zuko and began to speak “the reason why I took you out of the festival was because someone asked me to give you something important”

"As a kind of gift?" Zuko asked a bit confused.

“Yes, more or less” Aang replied, Zuko did not ask any more questions, nor did he ask about what would be the gift he should give him, whatever it was, he was ready to receive it, but what he did not expect was that that gift was nothing more and nothing less than a kiss and not just any kiss, Aang raised his mask until he left half of his face uncovered and pressed his lips against Zuko's ones in a soft kiss, perhaps the kiss was sweet but Zuko could taste the slightly salty flavor of the young boy’s lips. What was he doing? he tried with all his might not to enjoy that kiss, he tried to convince himself that it was just a gift from a Fire Nation peasant (the son of a soldier) who was simply enjoying the festival and maybe a girl asked him to kiss him for her, but for some reason that kiss felt… so familiar to him. Maybe a simple shared dance did not mean anything, even if Zuko felt a close connection with that masked boy, it did not mean anything, but a kiss meant many things.

The boy broke apart and sat down again, letting Zuko go, he (on the other side) remained motionless in his place, but after a moment he got up to accommodate his cloak, he shivered slightly when he felt a slight heat press on top of him and that's when he caught sight of the boy leaving the square and running towards the alley, but he reacted in time, he came running towards that boy and grabbed him by the cloak before he disappeared once more into the darkness.

"Wait!" Zuko exclaimed stopping him, Aang stopped running and slowly shifted his masked gaze towards the prince “I... uh... can I see you again?”

"I don't know, maybe yes or maybe no, we'll never know" the disguised young airbender replied.

“Could you at least tell me your name?”

“Yes, my name is...” Aang said but he stopped for a second and quickly thought of another name so Zuko would not discover him “my name is Kuzon”

“Then, I hope to see you again soon, Kuzon.”

After saying these words, Zuko raised his mask again, Aang did the same, they both said goodbye with a kiss and went their separate ways.

Aang ran back to where Sokka and Katara were, Zuko left the square and went to meet his uncle who had probably been looking for him for a long time. But before Zuko could finally leave the square, he could see how the hood of the cape that that boy was wearing fell off, thus revealing a light blue line on his head, for a second he was almost sure that it was the Avatar who he spoke to him and kissed him too ... again, but barely blinked, the boy was already gone and had pulled the hood back over his head.

As soon as Zuko left the square, he returned to the center of the village where the festival of the days of fire was being celebrated, once there he began to walk avoiding attracting people's attention, but at the same time, he was looking for his uncle with her gaze, until she saw him sitting in a chair in front of a stall.

"Oh, prince Zuko" Iroh said when he saw the exiled prince standing in front of him "where have you been? I've been worried about you, nephew”

"I... I don't want to talk about it now" Zuko replied, turning his gaze, he could feel his cheeks heat up under his mask "it's late and I think I should head back."

“Are you leaving the festival so soon?”

"Yes, I need to go to bed, I'm exhausted" the Fire Nation prince said, he didn't even stop to hear what his uncle was saying; however, he could hear something like ‘a man needs his rest’ or something similar, but he did not give importance at the time, what he needed now was to go back to his ship and try to forget what happened a few moments ago.

Most of the people wandered off to see other events, yet the dancers continued their dance even though the center circle was already almost dissolved. The dancer who had chosen Aang as the festival Fire Lord smiled at him and greeted him slightly, the young airbender looked the dance ended before resuming his search, it did not take long to find his friends, the three of them met almost immediately, Aang took a step in front of them as they walked following the crowd, he knew no one was following them, but a part of him wondered why he had go back to the place where the sun dance was performed before meeting his friends, he needed to get away from there to stop thinking about what had just happened a few moments ago. They witnessed a puppet show in which Fire Lord Ozai was presented as a great hero facing the "fearsome" Earth Kingdom soldiers, this show made all three shudders, so they step back and turned away from there sooner.

"Aang, wait, where do we go now?" Katara asked, the boy accelerated his steps and turned to see his friend.

"I don't know, but there’s a large crowd, so it must be a good thing" the air nomad replied as he approached to a crowd that was standing in front of a large stage with four torches around it.

"Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution" Sokka joked, following the other two with slow steps. The three were met with a firebending performance, which kept audiences dazzled and in awe of the performances.

“Thank you very much!” the interpreter named Malu exclaimed who bowed to the audience who began to shout euphorically “for my next trick, I will need a volunteer from the audience”

“Oh oh! me! me!” Aang exclaimed as he jumped up and raised his hand so he could get the artist's attention, but Sokka stopped him.

"What do you think you're doing?" the Southern Water Tribe boy asked him.

"I want to take a closer look" Aang protested.

"We better not call attention to ourselves" Katara warned, Aang remembered the moment he joined the sun dance with Zuko and he could not help feeling his cheeks turn a soft pink. As if something like that had not happened to him a couple of hours ago; suddenly, Malu pointed at the Southern Water Tribe girl who raised her head to look at him.

"And what about you, young lady?" Malu asked, Katara shook her head and took a step back “aw, she's shy. Let's cheer her up a bit, folks”

A boy approached Katara and pushed her onto the stage so Malu could grab her wrist and help her up.

“Aw, that's not fair. That could have been me” Aang protested as he crossed his arms a bit annoyed. Neither Aang nor Sokka noticed a man dressed in dark brown clothing looking at them just a few feet away from the crowd.

“The next trick is called taming the dragon!” Malu said as she brought a chair and Katara sat on it “you will be my captured princess” she tied the girl with a red cloth and then began to move the flames of the torches around from the stage creating the form of a dragon flying around Katara “don’t worry, young maiden! I will tame this fiery beast!" Malu seemed to lose control "he is too strong! I can’t hold it! the rope is breaking”

The fire dragon got rid of the rope and flew straight towards the Water Tribe girl. Aang, fearing for his friend's safety, jumped on stage to protect her and used his airbending to stop the fire dragon. He accidentally ends up revealing to the crowd that he is the Avatar, causing some Fire Nation soldiers to chase after them and manage to escape them, fortunately they are helped by a man named Chey, he tells the Avatar team who works and serves a firebender named Jeong Jeong who left the Fire Nation long ago. Upon returning to the forest, sitting around a campfire, Chey begins to relate that Jeong Jeong was the first firebender to leave his nation and that he is still alive, while he himself considers himself the second to do so; however, he confesses that being second doesn't make him as important as Jeong Jeong was.

Chey led the trio to Jeong Jeong's camp that was hidden in a forest, but they were intercepted by his followers, who were led by a man named Lin Yee. Chey greeted him as friends, but both he and his followers were indifferent to him, something that made the trio doubt if they were really friends. Once they reached the camp, Lin Yee stopped them midway, not far from where they were, the Avatar team caught a glimpse of a hut made of metal and wood near the river.

"Go ahead, he wants to see you" Lin Yee told Chey while holding her spear.

“Oh, it's fine. We can talk later” Chey said a little nervous.

"Is that where Jeong Jeong is?" Aang asked standing behind Lin Yee "I need to talk to him right away."

"No, wait here!" Lin Yee ordered to the young airbender as he stopped him with his spear, he pushed Chey with the wooden staff of his spear "go now!"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine" Chey said as he walked towards the hut with his arms raised "he's a great man, a great man, seriously!"

After leaving Chey with Jeong Jeong, Lin Yee led Aang, Katara, and Sokka to a small hut built from the same material as the one located by the river.

Meanwhile, Admiral Zhao entered the village, the Fire Days festival had already ended and there were no people outside at that time of night. The man began to look around the center of the village where the festival took place, he saw a wooden statue in the shape of a burned torch and some paper lanterns lying on the ground.

“So, the Avatar was here...” Zhao said to the soldiers who were at the festival a few hours ago “and they let him escape?”

“Yes, sir” the one who was supposed to be the commander replied a little disappointed “but, apart from that, the festival went smoothly” a burning structure fell to the ground startling him and the soldiers who were standing behind him “there were no fights and the criminals have fallen”

"I'm not interested in knowing about your local crime rates!" Zhao exclaimed, frowning furiously "where did they go?"

“They headed for the woods; I suspect river up.”

Zhao decides to chase them himself, after knowing that Aang and his team ran through it, he orders his men to prepare riverboats to search through the woods where Aang fled earlier.

Back at Jeong Jeong's camp, Chey left the hut and went to the small hut where Team Avatar was waiting for the firebender's response, his face indicating that he was leaving with bad news for them. He entered the hut and as soon as he did, Aang woke up, causing Momo to jump, who was sleeping comfortably on top of him, probably the air nomad fell asleep waiting for Jeong Jeong's answer.

"What happened?" Aang asked the man "can I see Jeong Jeong now?"

"He won't see you" Chey replied as he sat on the floor "he's very angry because I brought you here, he wants you to leave immediately.”

"Finally!" Sokka exclaimed once awake "we can resume our journey."

"Wait why doesn't he want to see me?" the young airbender asked without understanding the reason why Jeong Jeong refused to see him.

“He says you're not ready. He says that you have not yet mastered waterbending and earthbending.”

“Wait how does he know that?”

“He saw the way you walked into the camp. He may simply know.”

"I'm going to go talk to him anyway" Aang said firmly, he left the small hut and went to Jeong Jeong's hut by the river, inhaled deeply and entered, he could see a disheveled white haired man sitting on his back on the floor surrounded by candles.

"Get out" the firebender said to the air nomad without looking at him.

"Master, I need to learn firebending" Aang told him as he walked until he was standing a few inches behind the man.

“Only a fool seeks his own path to destruction.”

“I am the Avatar and it’s my destiny...”

"Destiny?" Jeong Jeong interrupted without even looking at him "what would a child know about destiny? If a fish lives its entire life in the river, do it know the destiny of the river? no! it just runs and flows out of control. He can go where it flows, but he cannot see the end, he cannot imagine the ocean”

“Alright? but it’s the Avatar's destiny to master the discipline of all the elements” Aang replied sitting cross-legged in front of Jeong Jeong.

“To master the disciplines of all the elements, you must master the discipline itself” the firebender said turning his head and looked at the boy slightly “but you have no interest in it, so I have no interest in you. Now get out of here”

Aang frowned slightly, but he had no intention of taking a step back and leaving without learning some fire-bending skills from that man.

“Please, I have to learn. This could be my only chance.”

“What are you deaf? how can I teach you if you refuse to listen?!” Jeong Jeong shouted turning half of his body “before learning firebending, you must learn to water and earthbending. The water is cold and relaxing, the earth is stable and rigid, but the fire... the fire is alive, it breathes, it grows without a teacher, a rock will not be thrown by itself, but the fire will spread and destroy everything in its wake if one doesn’t have the will to control it! that's your destiny, you're not ready yet! you are too weak!”

When exclaiming this, the flames of the candles grew until they reached the roof of the cabin and went out leaving everything in complete darkness, but, suddenly, a silhouette appeared in front of Jeong Jeong, it was Avatar Roku, the past life of Aang and he had also grown up in the Fire Nation.

"Do you think I'm too weak?" the former Avatar asked.

“Avatar Roku! no! no! I didn't mean that” Jeong Jeong apologized.

“I have mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lives. Now, I must do it one more time” he replied looking at the man with a serious expression “you will teach the new Avatar firebending”

“Yes, yes” Jeong Jeong said looking that he had no other option “I'll teach you”

"Really?" Aang's voice brought the firebender out of his trance "that's great!"

* * *

The next day, Jeong Jeong began teaching Aang the basics by focusing exclusively on breathing exercises, but the young Avatar's wish was to learn more advanced firebending techniques. After spending hours doing squats, breathing practices, and feeling the energy of the sun, Aang finally got bored and returned to the firebender's hut.

"What are you doing here?" Jeong Jeong asked to the air nomad "I didn't tell you to stop!"

"I've been breathing for hours" Aang replied.

“Do you want to stop breathing?”

"What I want is for you to stop wasting my time! I know how to squat, breathe and feel the sun. I want to know how to firebend from my fingertips” Aang complained, Jeong Jeong put his teacup aside and sighed.

“I had a student once who had no interest in learning discipline. He only cared about the power of fire, how he could use it to destroy his opponents and eliminate obstacles in his way, but fire is a horrible burden and difficult to bear, his nature is to consume and without any control, it destroys everything in its path” the man said while pouring another cup of tea “learn to control it or risk destroying yourself and everyone you love”

Aang could not help but start thinking about his friends, but more importantly, he think about Zuko, sighed in resignation, turned around and left the hut. It was a while before Jeong Jeong came out of his hut and found Aang sitting on a rock in the river in front of the hut, the Air Nomad quickly apologized telling him that he is ready to learn in his own way. Once this was done, Jeong Jeong proceeded to instruct him in firebending, much to Aang's enthusiasm; However, his enthusiasm quickly faded when Jeong Jeong only assigned him the simple task of preventing a blade from being completely burned. The firebender had to leave to attend to other matters, and Aang, feeling restricted, decided to take his exercise to the next level and created a small flare.

"Hey, I did it, I just made firebending!" Aang said incredulously.

“That's great, Aang” Katara said who was walking along the riverbank “but, maybe you should take it easy” Aang started to play with the fire he had just created for a while “be careful”

"Now this is real firebending" the young airbender told her enthusiastically.

“Aang, stop. You can get hurt” the girl told him. Ignoring her pleas, he continued to play with his firebending and accidentally ended up burning Katara's hands when he tried to imitate a move that the performer, Malu, performed at the festival the other day.

"Katara, I'm sorry!" Aang said as he jumped off the rock and approached to his friend with concern.

"Katara what happened?" Sokka asked as he ran towards her, he looked at Aang angrily "what did you do?!"

"I-It was an accident! I am, uh… Katara, I am so…” Aang tried to explain but was tackled by the Southern Water Tribe boy.

"I told you not to mess with these things! now you burned my sister!” Sokka yelled at him, Katara got up as best she could from the river bank and ran away from there still sobbing. Aang saw her run away from the campsite and could not help but feel guilty for what had happened to her friend, but at that moment, Jeong Jeong had just returned to the camp “this is all your fault!”

“I already know it! pack your things” the firebender ordered them “you must leave immediately”

"I already said I'm sorry" Aang said to Sokka but he walked away from there "I didn't mean to... I'm so sorry!"

Jeong Jeong looked at the airbender in disappointment and also walked away from the campsite, Katara tried to cool her burned hands in the river water, after a few seconds, she was miraculously healed despite having no prior knowledge or training as a healer.

“You have healing abilities” a voice not far from her said, Katara stopped looking at her healed hands and turned her gaze to Jeong Jeong “the great waterbenders sometimes have that ability. I've always wanted to have that blessing like you... and thus be able to free myself from this burning curse”

“But you are a great master” Katara told him “you have powers that I never knew”

“The waterbenders have healing abilities and can create life, but fire only brings destruction and pain. It forces those of us who are burdened with its care to walk a dagger's edge, caught between humanity and savagery. We're shattered, eventually” suddenly a blast of fire fell into the water and that made Katara and Jeong Jeong turn their gazes to see where the blast had come from, and as soon as they looked away, admiral Zhao and his men had arrived to the campsite “run, find your friends and go away!” Katara simply obeyed and fled there to look for Aang and her brother “don't come back here or you will be destroyed! hurry up!”

After saying that, the firebender returned to the riverbank, the boats were getting even closer, Zhao lowered his spyglass and a slight expression of surprise showed on his face, but it instantly changed to a sinister one. Jeong Jeong unleashed his legendary firebending skills and created a wall to prevent the boats from continuing to approach, seeing the wall of fire, the boats turned around and stopped a few meters away, Zhao jumped off one of the boats landing upright in the river water.

“Don't worry, soldiers” the admiral told them “my old master stopped fighting a long time ago” he made his way through the wall of fire and stood in front of the man “isn't that right, master Jeong Jeong?”

Sokka was already finishing packing his things in Appa and they were almost ready to leave, but he could see his sister rushing towards him.

"Katara, are you okay?" Sokka asked a little worried.

“I'm fine. We have to get out of here" Katara answered "where is Aang?”

Sokka pointed to Jeong Jeong's hut and the Water Tribe girl went down to look for her friend. Aang, on the other hand, hid in the hut to reflect on his mistake, Sokka's voice yelling at him for hurting Katara with his firebending was repeating in his head over and over again, making him feel worse and worse, suddenly, He heard some footsteps walking into the cabin.

“Jeong Jeong tried to tell me I wasn’t ready” the young airbender said to his friend without even looking at her “and I didn't listen to him, I'll never do firebending again”

"You'll have to learn it some day" Katara said trying to convince him.

“No, I won't do it never again.”

“It’s okay, Aang. I am already healed.”

“What?! but how?”

“I'll explain it later” the Southern Water Tribe girl replied “but now, we have to get out of here, Zhao and his soldiers are attacking”

"Where?!" Aang asked as he turned and stood up with his airbending.

“By the river” Katara told him “they captured Jeong Jeong”

"I have to help him!" Aang exclaimed and after saying that, he ran out of the hut and went to the river to help the firebender.

With a fiery display of firebending, Jeong Jeong and his men managed to escape into the forest, the Fire Nation soldiers chasing them by Zhao's orders as Aang arrived at the river to confront him.

"Let's see what my old master taught you" Zhao said to the young airbender.

"Were you Jeong Jeong’s student?" Aang asked stopping his steps to look at the admiral a bit confused.

“Yes, until I got bored” the admiral said and then throwing a fireblast against the airbender, Aang managed to dodge it, but Zhao threw another fireblast that made him move the other way “I see that he taught you to dodge and run like a coward, but I doubt I've shown you what a true firebender is really capable of!”

He launched another fireblast and Aang managed to dodge it using an airbending trick, he could see how the fireblast hit a tree.

"Whoa, that was a wild shot!" the young airbender exclaimed looking at the tree.

“I'll show you what is wild!” Zhao exclaimed as he growled, he began to attack Aang using his firebending techniques, but he managed to protect himself with airbending, by that point, a part of the forest was enveloped by the flames. Remembering Jeong Jeong's lesson in self-control, Aang provoked the admiral, prompting him to destroy his own ships. The enraged Zhao looked how his ships burned as Aang escaped with Katara and Sokka, the three of them flying on top of Appa.

With Jeong Jeong missing, the Avatar team resumed their journey, leaving the forest with a lesson about the destructive power of firebending etched into their minds. By the time Chey returned to the campsite, he found it deserted and saw that everyone had already left.

As they flew over Appa, Katara noticed that Aang had burned his arm in his fight with Zhao.

“Aang, you hurt your arm” Katara said, the young airbender looked down at his burned arm “don't worry, let me help you” he took some water from the canteen covering her hand, she put her hand to the airbender’s wounded arm, she inhaled deeply as she healed his burn with waterbending, once finished, she withdrew her hand from Aang's arm.

"Wow, that water is good!" Aang commented to his friend.

"Where did you learn that?" Sokka asked to his sister, Katara just shrugged in response.

“I think I always knew.”

"Oh well, so thanks for all the first aid you've given me all those years" Sokka thanked her sarcastically, he began to recount the many times that Katara was unable to use her healing abilities to help him in the past “like that time that I fell into a bush of blubberberries, or that time when I had two hooks in my thumb!”

“Two? really?” Aang said totally incredulous.

"He tried to remove the first hook with another one" Katara told Aang as she snickered. As Appa flew above the woods, Sokka continued to tell all the bad things that had happened to him and how his sister was unable to help him with her healing abilities.

* * *

Sadly, Aang was not the only one Zhao wanted to capture and bring his head to the Fire Nation. Zuko was also being wanted by Zhao's soldiers, otherwise they wouldn't be placing capture posters like the Blue Spirit everywhere. Now he was on the dock where his ship was docked looking at that capture poster when his uncle appeared behind him, quickly hiding the paper from his view, something that was not necessary because after all, Iroh already knew the secret identity of his nephew but wanted to pretend he didn't know anything and that it was just a rumor so he could distract Zhao and his men.

"Do you know that Zhao and his men are looking for you?" Iroh asked to the banished prince.

"Yes, I know," Zuko replied without looking at him, "what do you intend to do?"

"The only thing we can do for now is try to avoid them" Iroh replied "I saw them when we were at the Fire Days festival in the village “they also searched the ship, so the best excuse I could think of is that you had gone on a trip with a girl”

Zuko almost blushed with embarrassment upon hearing those words, how did his uncle dare to say such a thing to Zhao's men? But then he consider that maybe it was the best he could do, because if they were to find out that he was actually spending time at the festival with a masked boy named Kuzon he would be in serious trouble and already had enough trouble having infiltrated Zhao's fortress to rescue the Avatar. His heart pounded at the thought of the airbender, what the hell was going on with him? first he met this Kuzon boy with whom he shared a dance at the festival and also kissed him and then on the other hand there was Aang, the Avatar, for whom he also felt something. He did not know what to do to deal with that whirlwind of emotions, he was so confused at the time that he began to wonder if Kuzon was actually Aang.

“We have to keep moving, the Avatar is probably traveling again. We can't lose sight of him” Zuko told to his uncle once he got out of his confused thoughts.

“First we must relax a little before continuing with our trip” Iroh said “let's have a tea together before continuing, what do you say?”

The Fire Nation prince did not answer to his uncle's suggestion and simply walked back to his ship, he had already had a bad experience with that steaming liquid when he was about to drink a cup in his ship bedroom, which he needed now it was thinking of a plan to capture the Avatar before Zhao do it first and also he needed to clear his doubts as to whether Kuzon was Aang or not.


	6. Chapter V: The Seige of North.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka were flying over Appa on their way to the North Pole in order to find a waterbending master who could train Katara and perhaps teach the Avatar some techniques, at least until Katara was ready to teach him herself. The journey was uneventful for a while, until Sokka began to get bored and spoke to break the quiet environment.

"I don't want to complain, but can't Appa fly higher?" Sokka asked.

"I have an idea why don't we all get on your back and take us flying to the North Pole?" Aang asked as he turned to see the Southern Water Tribe boy a bit annoyed.

"I would love to" Sokka replied sarcastically while pointing to his back "everyone get on, Sokka is ready to take off" the only one who jumped on his back was Momo.

“Look, I know we're all tired and in a bad mood” Katara told them trying to calm the situation “but it's because we've been flying two days in a row”

“And all for what? we could not even find the Northern Water Tribe" Sokka insisted "there's nothing here.”

Suddenly, some ice spikes appeared in front of them. Aang tried to make Appa dodge them but one of the spikes caused the flying bison to stumble and fall into the water, then some boats appeared cornering them.

“They are waterbenders” Katara said looking at the men standing in those boats “we found the Water Tribe”

Unfortunately, the Avatar Team would bring bad company with them upon reaching the Northern Water Tribe. A camp of the Fire Nation army had been installed in the surroundings of the Earth Kingdom, that camp belonged to nothing more and nothing less than Admiral Zhao, who had installed that camp with the firm intention of preparing a strategy to stop the Avatar.

“It has been confirmed that the Avatar is traveling to the North Pole” Zhao told to his men while showing them a map where they traced the travel routes “I firmly believe that he is traveling to the Northern Water Tribe, the Avatar child only knows control of its native element, the air. I think he’s looking for a teacher to learn the discipline of water, he has gone looking for someone in the Northern Water Tribe, where they have lived beyond our reach and openly practice waterbending”

“So what are we waiting for? let's go find him” Captain Li suggested, clenching his fist with determination.

"Patience, Captain Li" the admiral said "this is not a small Earth Kingdom village that we can easily access. The Northern Water Tribe is a great nation, there is a reason they have survived a hundred years of war, the frozen tundra is treacherous, the landscape itself is an ice fortress. We will need a massive invasion”

Guided by the boats carrying the waterbenders, the Avatar team sailed through the icy water to a central wall made of ice that had the Northern Water Tribe symbol engraved on it, some waterbenders that were on top of the wall and also in the boats opened the passage so Appa could swim across it, while the flying bison swam through the passage, Aang could notice how some of the waterbenders who were standing in the main canal of the city closed the passage turning the water on ice. When they reached the heart of the city they could see the people gathered on ice bridges or looking at them along the icy and snow covered edge of the main canal, both Aang and Katara were amazed at how they had prospered over the years, the Southern Water Tribe girl had to admit for herself that the Northern Water Tribe was bigger and more beautiful than she expected, totally different from her birthplace. After getting off Appa, the trio arrived at the ice palace where the royal court was waiting for them while some of the servants were in charge of pulling the flying bison out of the icy water and taking it to the stables so that he was warm, comfortable and received enough food. The Northern Water Tribe chief, Arnook, welcomed them as did his daughter, Princess Yue, a beautiful young girl with white hair who had caught Sokka's attention upon seeing her. Aang showed the chief and his court that he was the only airbender alive and even did an airbending demonstration to prove his point, when he finished his demonstration, he was accepted to be trained in the art of waterbending by Master Pakku, the best waterbending master of the tribe.

“Master Pakku, it will be a great honor for me to train water-bending, my friend and I can't wait to start training with you” Aang said to the waterbender in a respectful way “after we relax for a couple of days”

“If you want to relax so much, I suggest you visit a tropical island-said Pakku-if not, I'll see you both at dawn. Good night”

With those last words, Pakku withdrew leaving the young airbender and the Northern Water Tribe chief alone, the boy looked at him expecting him to say a phrase or a word, but the man only shrugged, if Pakku wanted to train him him and Katara at dawn, so there was nothing he could do, after all, the old man had his own methods.

* * *

The next morning, long before the sun began to show its rays over the North Pole, Aang and Katara headed to the ice palace to begin learning waterbending from Pakku. They were both nervous and eager to start learning, but Katara was more eager than the young airbender.

"I have waited for this day all my life" Katara said excitedly as she walked towards the ice palace with Aang "I will finally be able to learn from a true waterbender!"

They continued walking until they found Pakku practicing his waterbending skills. Aang had no better idea than to greet him thus interrupting his training.

"Good morning, Master Pakku!" Aang greeted him cheerfully from a distance.

“No please! go ahead! I'm not concentrating or anything” the old man told them.

"Uh... this is my friend... Katara... the one I told you about" Aang said introducing the Southern Water Tribe girl to Pakku. The waterbender looked at her with an arched eyebrow and tilted his head slightly, not expecting to find a girl who wanted to learn waterbending with him.

“I'm sorry, I think there has been a misunderstanding” Pakku said while making a block of ice and sitting on it “you didn't tell me that your friend was a girl, in our tribe, it is forbidden for women to learn waterbending”

Katara couldn't believe what she was hearing. What was that rule that women couldn't learn waterbending? She had traveled there to learn that skill from Aang, she was not going to take a step back just because an old man who had experience with waterbending commanded her.

“What do you mean that you are not going to teach me?!” the Southern Water Tribe asked a little annoyed “I didn’t travel around the world to hear you say no”

“No.”

“But there must be other waterbender women in the tribe.”

“Here, the women learn from Yagoda to use their waterbending to heal. I'm sure she would be happy to take you as her student... despite your bad attitude.”

“But I don't want to learn to heal! I want to fight” Katara said.

“I can see that” Pakku answered “but our tribe has customs, rules”

"Well, their rules suck" the Southern Water Tribe girl replied.

“Yes, they suck” Aang supported her “if you don't want to teach Katara then...”

“So what?!”

"Then I won't learn from you" the young airbender replied as he retraced his steps and walked away.

“Well, have fun teaching yourself” Pakku said sarcastically “I'm sure you'll do a great job”

“Wait! Aang didn't mean that” Katara told him, she ran to the airbender and took him by the shoulder “you can't risk your training for me, you have to learn from Master Pakku” she looked back at the old man a few meters away from them “even if he's a big jerk”

Aang just nodded and Katara felt a little happy to help her friend and make him change his mind. The Southern Water Tribe girl left from there and Pakku began her training by attacking the young airbender with a strong wave that sent him back a couple of meters.

Katara, on the other hand, made his way to a house built with ice where Yagoda was teaching the girls of the tribe how to use their waterbending to heal wounds.

"Um, hi, are you Yagoda?" Katara asked the old woman.

"Are you here for the healing lesson?" Yagoda replied seeing the girl with a smile, Katara looked at her, then looked at the girls who were there and looked down a little disappointed.

"I guess so" she replied walking a few steps and sitting in the circle where the other girls were located so that she could see the healing lesson more closely. After a while, the healing lesson ended and the girls took the wooden dummy until the next healing lesson began, Katara on the other hand stayed a little longer to talk to Yagoda “thank you so much for the lesson”

"So who is the lucky boy?" Yagoda asked, Katara looked at her a little confused, what was she talking about? "you are wearing a bethrotal necklace. You're going to get married soon right?”

The Southern Water Tribe girl brought her hands to her mother's bethrotal necklace, then looked at Yagoda and laughed softly.

“No. Don't worry, I don't think I'm ready for that. At least not for now” Katara answered “my grandmother gave my mother this necklace, and my mother gave it to me”

“I recognize this carving!” Yagoda said while looking at the light blue medallion on the necklace “I don't know why I didn't realize it before; you are the spitting image of Kanna”

“Wait! how do you know my grandmother's name?” the girl asked without understanding what was happening.

“When I was more or less your age, I was friends with Kanna” the old woman told him “she was born here, in the Northern Tribe”

“She never told me that…”

“Your grandmother had an arranged marriage with a young waterbender. He carved that necklace for her.”

"If Gran-Gran was engaged, then why did she leave?" Katara asked Yagoda.

“I don't know, that was always a mystery to me. She leaves without saying goodbye.”

* * *

That same night, Iroh was on the ship deck saying goodbye to the crew who had agreed to participate in the expedition that Zhao was organizing to the North Pole. The man retraced his steps and went to the room where Zuko was, the latter was lying on the bed looking at a fixed point on the ceiling, he still had a hard time assimilating the fact that his crew left him to go on a mission Led by Zhao, no matter what he did, no matter what he planned, that bastard was always one step ahead of him. At that, the door opened and the fury that the Fire Nation prince had dissipated just a little as he saw his uncle peeking through the door.

"The crew wanted me to wish you a safe journey" Iroh said with half his body peeking through the metal door.

"Well, goodbye to those traitors" Zuko said nonchalantly.

“Listen, Zuko. It's a lovely night for a walk, why don't you come?” Iroh asked as he entered inside the bedroom “that would clear your mind” Zuko did not answer him, he just closed his eyes and pretended to ignore it “or just stay in your room and sit in the dark, do what makes you happy”

Iroh left the bedroom and closed the metal door leaving his nephew alone, he got off the boat humming a song, but what he did not know is that some kind of monkey bird came flying to the boat and after he left, a A group of pirates entered the ship carrying barrels containing explosive gelatin. Suddenly, Zuko woke up to hear one of the ship's doors open.

“Uncle. Uncle, it’s you?” the Fire Nation prince asked looking both sides of the corridor, he left the bedroom and looked around, but there was no one there, something that made him suspicious and decided to go check what was going.

Outside on deck one of the pirates lit a fuse and escaped with his companions, the spark followed the trail on the floor until it reached the barrels with explosive jelly and by the time Zuko noticed the strange bird the barrels exploded and the fire it was extended inside and outside the nave, including the tower.

"Zuko!" Iroh realized this and ran back to the dock only to find that the ship was already destroyed and on fire. The old man felt a little hurt at the thought of losing his nephew, but a part of him kept his hopes alive and told him that he probably could escape and that he was safe somewhere.

Luckily Zuko wasn't the only one who had a bad day, Team Avatar had their bad day too, Aang had a difficult waterbending training, Katara felt like she would go nowhere just by learning how to heal someone using her waterbending abilities and also discovered a mystery about her grandmother that she never knew why she had never told her or her brother about their past in the Northern Water Tribe?

"So... how's the waterbending training going?" Sokka asked to his sister and the young airbender, both of them came out of their respective thoughts and Aang turned to see the Southern Water Tribe boy.

"The poop head master does not want to teach Katara because she's a girl" Aang replied a bit annoyed.

"And why don't you teach her instead, Aang?" the Southern Water Tribe boy suggested to his friend.

"Of course, why I didn’t think of that before?!" Katara exclaimed as if a fleeting idea had crossed her mind at that precise moment "at night, you could teach me any movement you learn from Master Pakku. That way, you have someone to practice with and I can learn waterbending, so we will all be happy!”

"I'm not happy" Sokka argued as he hid his face in the bag he was hugging.

“I'm not surprised, you are never happy. Come on, Aang” Katara said to the young airbender, both of them left the bedroom where they were staying and went to the canal so they could start practicing their waterbending. But unfortunately, Pakku discovered them, upset that the young Avatar was trying to teach his friend waterbending techniques, both they and Sokka were taken to the ice palace to see chief Arnook. Once they reached the main hall where the leader was waiting for them, Katara explained what had happened.

"And what do you want me to do?" the chief asked "force Master Pakku to accept Aang as his student again?"

"Yes, please" Katara asked him.

“I suspect that he could change his mind if you swallow your pride and apologize to him.”

Katara looked at him, turned her gaze back to Aang, and then looked back at the tribe chief.

"Okay" the Southern Water Tribe girl replied.

"I'm waiting, little one" Master Pakku said expectantly.

“No! There is no way I’ll apologize to a sour old man like you!” Katara exclaimed angrily, that caused the ice floor to crack and the water jugs in the hall smashed into pieces.

"Uh, Katara..." Aang told her.

"I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me" Katara said to Pakku, surprising Yue and the chief, she turned on her feet and left the hall.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that" Aang said trying to apologize to the waterbender.

"Oh yeah, I think she did" Sokka said with a shrug. Both quickly exited the ice palace and ran downstairs to catch up with the girl who was already coming downstairs with a frown “are you crazy, Katara? you won't be able to win this fight”

"I know and I don't care" she replied as she took off her winter coat to be able to fight more comfortably wearing the blue dress she wore under the coat.

“Listen, you don't have to do this for me” Aang said trying to calm his friend down “I can find another waterbending teacher”

"I'm not going to do this for you" Katara answered without leaving the anger that ran through her body "someone needs to make that guy see reason."

"So, you decided to show up?" Pakku asked as he walked downstairs, he passed Katara, Sokka (who was holding his sister's coat) and Aang.

"Hey, aren't you going to fight?" Katara said still angry with him.

“Go back to the healing huts” the old man replied as he walked away “with the other women, where you belong” Katara was angered by the waterbender's comment, so she took a water whip using her scarce waterbending skills and hit Pakku on the back of the head with it “well, if you want to learn how to fight that much, you better learn up close” suddenly, he scooped up some water from the ice fountains outside the palace and threw it at Katara just as she she was running ready to fight him. She then created a swirl of water around them and trapped both inside “don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you” he started to closing the whirlpool more and more, cornering Katara but she broke the whirlpool quickly and sent the water against Sokka who ended up being hit, she took out another water whip and ran towards Pakku who created a wall of ice for protection. The Southern Water Tribe girl ran towards the ice wall and slipped, but luckily she landed on the stair rail, she just looked away and saw Pakku launching a waterbending attack on her, Katara tried to escape but the waterbender froze her feet on the ice rail so she could not escape; however, she managed to dodge the wave using her waterbending.

"You can't defeat me!" Katara exclaimed defiantly, everyone who was watching the fight began to cheer on the girl, even Aang began to cheer on her friend. Pakku and Katara resumed their fight, the waterbender made another wave and threw the girl into one of the ice fountains, she counterattacked by making a block of ice, cutting it into discs and throwing them towards the old man who dodged the ice discs slightly in amazement , Katara came out of the fountain and directed a wave towards Pakku who managed to evade it effortlessly and counterattacked Katara by pushing her a few meters from him. The Southern Water Tribe girl's breathing became ragged, but she intended to give up, regained her strength and threw columns of snow at Pakku that quickly evaporated the snow before it fell on him.

“Well, I'm impressed” the waterbender said “there’s no doubt, you are an excellent waterbender”

"But you still won't teach me, will you?" Katara asked.

“No” Pakku replied, leaving the girl with no choice but to attack him again using a wave that she turned into ice and suddenly a block of ice formed under the waterbender feet, she melted the ice block and began to move with frozen water. Katara launched another attack that Pakku who frozed it turning it into an ice ramp through which he slid and pushed the girl away, causing her necklace to fall on the snow with this movement, he pulled more water from the fountain turning it into ice spikes that fell on Katara pinning her down “this fight is over”

“Come back here. I'm not done with you yet” Katara exclaimed looking Pakku walk away.

“Yes, you did” the waterbender said but stopped when he saw Katara's necklace in the snow “this is my necklace”

“No, it is not! It's mine, give it back!”

“I made this, I craved this necklace it sixty years ago... for the love of my life, for Kanna.”

"Was my Gran-Gran supposed to marry you?" Katara asked him once she was released from her ice prison.

"I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged" Pakku replied, still looking at the necklace "I thought we would have a life together, I loved her."

"But she didn't love you, did she?" Katara asked after hearing the waterbender story “it was an arranged marriage. Gran-Gran didn't think to let the stupid customs of your tribe ruin her life, that's why she fled, she must have had a lot of courage to do it”

* * *

Zuko clenched his fists hating with all his might having to wear the Fire Nation army uniform, especially the helmet and mask that he was forced to wear to hide his identity and his injured face after what happened in the explosion. on your boat. Deep inside him was cursing Zhao furiously, how dare he contact pirates to blow up his ship? now he was more than determined to face him for what he had done to him, no one committed an assassination attempt against the Fire Nation prince and lived to tell the tale. He looked over his shoulder as a soldier walked past him, he was standing in an alcove passing the corridor, he heard footsteps walking towards him and he could see his uncle pass him.

"What do you have to tell me?" Zuko asked afraid that Zhao would suspect that one of his soldiers was actually an intruder.

“Don't worry, Zhao doesn't suspect anything that you're here” Iroh replied to his nephew while calming him down “he thinks you died in the explosion”

"You didn't have to do this" Zuko said as he took off the mask that covered his injured face.

“I had to do it. No nephew of mine is going to take shelter in a boat without any backup.”

"Thanks, uncle" Zuko thanked him without looking at him, then the door opened calling Iroh's attention.

"Someone's coming" Iroh said as Zuko put the mask back on "stay hidden here and when we get to the North Pole, the Avatar will be yours. Good luck”

With those last words, both of them parted and took opposite ways.


	7. Chapter VI: The Seige of North [pt. II]

Zuko gasped as he collapsed on the snow, he snorted wearily as he tried to move forward, he looked over his shoulder at the path he had just made in the snow, that was not what he expected. First he climbed up one of the longest and steepest unimaginable trails, he did it all bearing the young airbender weight on his back, by the time he reached the top it started snowing and his stomach clenched at the sight of the snowy desolate field that was expanding in front of him, beyond what any common eye could perceive, seriously he did not expect to see that, he believed that he would find more water when he reached the top but instead he ran into that extensive ice field. He simply pulled Aang as close to his body as he could and continued with his journey, accepting the fact that he was going to have a long walk while a snowstorm raged, he could not feel colder than he already was at that precise moment, but without even noticing it, he took a wrong step and the ground began to crumble under the prince's feet and he began to run as fast as he could so as he do not fall towards certain death. That gave him more trouble, but it was worth it, his golden orbs almost straying towards the unconscious boy in the snow next to him, almost. Zuko looked around and his eyes saw a crack in the ice that seemed to be a cave.

_A few hours ago..._

Before Zhao's invasion of the Northern Water Tribe took place, the admiral was at the Fire Nation palace discussing with Fire Lord Ozai his plan to attack the Water Tribe as they walked down the corridor that He led them into the huge garden that belonged to the palace.

"I haven't heard from my son for quite some time" Ozai said as he walked with Zhao following in his footsteps "do you know where he could be?"

“I haven't heard anything from him, sir” the admiral answered while smiling discreetly because the Fire Lord had no idea what was about to happen to Zuko “but I'm sure some news will come soon”

“The Northern Water Tribe benders have gained their strength from the Moon and the Ocean spirits, it will be difficult to defeat them. But, if for some reason the spirits were not involved, things would be different” the Fire Lord theorized, then he remembered something of the utmost importance and that could be of great help for the Northern Water Tribe siege “what have you learned from the stolen scrolls?”

“We have managed to decipher the exact location of the Moon and the Ocean spirits” the Admiral replied.

“It’s our destiny to have found this information, Zhao” Ozai said as he turned his gaze to the horizon “eliminate the spirits, take down that city and we will have defeated the Avatar in the process”

Following the Fire Lord new orders, Zhao prepared an immense fleet to invade the Northern Water Tribe as soon as possible, in an attempt to eliminate the Moon and the Ocean Spirits.

A new day began in the Northern Water Tribe and with it another day practicing waterbending. After being impressed by Katara's fighting abilities using her waterbending, Pakku had no choice but to give in and agreed to train her alongside his other students and her friend, the Avatar. Now Pakku was on the outskirts of the ice palace where the fountains were placed, he was walking from side to side looking at his students who were placed in a row, among them were Katara and Aang who kept a serious face like the rest of the young waterbenders of the tribe.

"What is water?" Pakku asked as he looked at his students standing in front of him.

"The element that flows, the element of change" they answered.

“To control the water, you must release your emotions wherever they take them” the waterbender told them “water teaches us to accept, let your emotions flow like water” he turned his gaze to Aang who was standing by Katara “Aang, would you like to sparr? you haven't sparr in a few days” Aang took a few steps forward and Pakku took an attack position, he bended the frozen water from the snow to create some stalactites that surrounded the young airbender, suddenly, the ice began to move and the waterbender could see how Aang used his hand to cut the stalactites that he created around him. Pakku took out a water sphere that he made from the melted snow, divided it into two small spheres and threw them at Aang who stopped them using his newly acquired waterbending knowledge and held them tightly, the waterbender threw a third sphere, but Aang managed to stop it and (making some movements with his hands) he managed to dissolve them, turning them into small drops that floated in the air around him “great job with defense, now use offense, Aang!”

The young airbender moved the water droplets in front of him, including the water from the fountains and tried to focus on the offensive techniques, the water droplets began to gurgle as he tried to control them as the water from the fountains began to rise almost gaining the shape of a wave surprising some of Pakku's students, but suddenly, Aang lost control and stopped to the waterbender’s dissapointment who could not understand what was wrong and why the young boy had stopped doing what he was doing at that precise moment.

* * *

Meanwhile, the invading Fire Nation fleet led by admiral Zhao was sailing with the course heading towards the Northern Water Tribe. Zhao was standing on the balcony of the ship's tower looking towards the horizon smiling as he imagined his next victory, someone left the tower and walked until he was inches away from him, the admiral turned his gaze upon noticing that the person who was outside the tower right next to him.

"General Iroh, I am glad that you have accepted my invitation to join us in this historical event" admiral Zhao told him.

"Your invitation was very kind of you" Iroh replied "it’s a great honor for me to serve you as your general. But I must warn you to be careful what you wish for, Admiral. History is not always kind to its subjects”

“You are a gifted strategist, no one can argue that” Zhao said “and I'm sure you say it from experience, but I can assure you that this will not be like your failure to your hundred day seige on Ba Sing Se”

“For your sake, I hope it isn't.”

“I understand that your son died in that attack, is not it?”

“Yes, he is” Iroh replied, sometimes he did not like to talk about his past or how his son died in front of other people, it caused him great pain but he also knew that he was in a better place and that now he had reunited with his mother.

“Hmm. I see" Zhao muttered, turning his gaze to Iroh “once again I offer my condolences for your nephew who died in that terrible explosion.”

“Thank you.”

"Tell the captains to prepare for the first attack" Zhao ordered as he walked towards the railing at the base of the tower where both men were standing.

Back in the Northern Water Tribe, Sokka accompanied Yue during one of her morning walksides around city that day. Now they were crossing a bridge, the Southern Water Tribe boy was walking along the railing with the white haired young girl by his side, they were both talking about the tribe where he and his sister came from. Since the princess confessed to Sokka that she liked him and also kissed him despite her bethrotal, the two teenagers grew closer and closer to the degree of becoming good friends, from Sokka's point of view.

"I loved spending these weeks with you, Sokka" Yue commented as they walked "so you don't have palaces in the Southern Water Tribe?"

“Are you kidding me? I grew up on a block of ice, it's not exactly a cultural center” the Southern Water Tribe boy replied as he sat on the railing of the ice bridge, the princess laughed at Sokka's response making the boy smile nervously “I also liked spending these days with you”

“Should we go see how the ocean is?” Yue asked, Sokka nodded and both walked towards one of the city walls while heading to a tower where they could have a nice view of the ocean “when there is some safety for everyone, I'll go visit our sister city in the Southern Water Tribe and spend some time at your home”

“That would be great” Sokka said as they climbed the stairs of the tower “but... I warn you” they both laughed as they looked at each other until they reached the viewpoint of the tower “my grandmother will ask you a lot of questions”

"What could she ask me?" Yue asked Sokka looking at him with curiosity reflected in her blue eyes as she smiled.

"She would say... she would say..." Sokka replied and imitated the voice of his grandmother, Kanna, as best he could "why do you have white hair, young lady? You look very odd"

“I would tell your grandmother, that my hair is white because when I was born, I wasn’t awake” Yue told him without stopping to see his eyes while smiling “my mother and my father couldn't make me make a sound or move, so they prayed to Moon spirit for several days and immersed me in the sacred waters” Sokka listened to what she was saying a little amazed “my parents told me that my hair turned white because life is poured on me”

“Wow” the Southern Water Tribe boy gasped still amazed by her story “you never told me that”

"Because you never asked me, but your grandmother will" the white haired princess replied, both looked at each other while smiling.

Iroh turned his steps and walked back inside the ship, he walked down the same corridor from the last time making sure that no one was following him and after turning around a corner he found Zuko who was still wearing his Fire Nation army uniform.

"I'm sure Zhao was the one who ordered those pirates to attack you" Iroh said "do you have any plans?"

"I'm working on it, uncle" Zuko replied, taking off his mask to look at the old man "why? Is there a problem?”

“Soon we will dock in front of the Northern Water Tribe main wall” Iroh said “they believe the Avatar is there”

_"And I believe the same"_ the Fire Nation prince thought, but of course, he would never admit that out loud, that was something he would keep to himself. He could see that the man was frowning as if he was, sad? upset? yes, it should be that last one “why do you look so upset, uncle?”

"Zhao has no mercy, are you sure you still want to be here?" Iroh asked concerned for his nephew’s well-beign. Zuko almost doubted his uncle's question but made up his mind and stood firm.

“I will never be able to live in peace until I capture the Avatar for... -Zuko said, but immediately he contained himself, his uncle did not have to know the real reason why he wanted to capture the Avatar, he wanted to keep the boy for himself because maybe he could be a bit selfish but he also could not deny that he had developed feelings for him and whatever this feeling was, he was one hundred percent sure that it was something beyond hatred “until I capture the Avatar for my father! don’t you understand?”

Iroh did not reply and they both took separate ways again. As soon as he saw his uncle walk away, Zuko clenched his fists tightly as he made an effort to calm himself, why had he said that? He would have saved himself from trouble and told his uncle the real reason why he had planned to capture the Avatar, but he could not do it, he had to stay focused on the plan that they were working on from the beginning and that was what he was going to do, then once he found the Avatar, he was going to confront him or maybe tell him about what happened at the fire days festival a few weeks ago and ask him if he was Kuzon (a.k.a the masked boy) or not.

Aang and Katara were in the heart of the city and both practiced some waterbending movements together, the movements of their bodies and their hands were synchronized as if they were connected in a certain sense, but for some reason, the young airbender did not felt that way, he was just copying what his friend was doing, trying to learn these new techniques. They were so focused on their task that they did not notice that the sky was slowly covered with gray clouds and some ashes began to fall on them and also on the snow. People noticed this unusual change in the sky, also Yue and Sokka who were still in the tower looking at the ocean, the white haired princess brought her hand closer and a flake of ash fell on her hand.

"What is this?" She asked looking how the ash was slightly turned her hand black.

“Yue, the Fire Nation is here” Sokka replied, looking at her seriously, he turned his gaze towards the horizon where a large ash cloud was approaching “and from what it seems, I can tell you that many ships are coming”

A large drum adorned with the Water Tribe insignia resounded as the citizens rushed into the main hall of the ice palace. Sokka and Yue were the last to arrive, inside the main hall, chief Arnook started the meeting.

"The day we feared for so long has arrived, the Fire Nation is approaching" Arnook told his people "with great sadness. I call my family here before I do, knowing that some of these faces are about to disappear from our tribe... but they will never disappear from our hearts. Now, as we approach to the battle for our existence, I invoke the great spirits...” he extended his arms “spirit of the ocean, spirit of the moon, stay with us! I'm going to need volunteers for this dangerous mission”

"Count with me" Sokka said as he stood up.

“Sokka...” Katara said not believing what her brother was saying. Some of the Northern Water Tribe men also stood up.

“Be careful: many of you will not return, come and receive my mark if you accept this task.”

Despite Katara's objections, and Yue who looked away to hold back the tears in her eyes, the leader painted a red mark on Sokka's forehead as a sign that he was willing to agree to join that mission.

Meanwhile, Aang was outside kneeling on the ice palace stairs railing gazing at the horizon, he couldn't believe that an invasion would take place. While awaiting the Fire Nation first attack, the younger boy began to unconsciously think about Zuko, did he know about this invasion? would he be on one of those ships? and if Zuko was there, then he might get a chance to see him again. They had not seen each other since what happened at the festival and even though he took all precautions not to reveal his true identity, his heart began to pound as he remembered the moment when both participated in the dance of the sun, he could almost feel the heat of the sun, the Fire Nation prince there with him, in the icy breeze that blew at the North Pole. It had only been a few weeks since they saw each other and Aang missed him, he did not understand what was going on with him but lately he remembered Zuko or was accidentally mentioned he felt his heart pound inside his chest and he felt a knot form inside his stomach maybe... maybe he was falling in love with Zuko? maybe that was true; however, on the other side, there was also Katara, although the young airbender had to admit that lately he was no longer feel that closeness or attraction that he initially felt for her, he knew that his heart was beating strongly for a single person and it was not precisely the Southern Water Tribe girl. The young airbender snapped out of his memories when he heard some footsteps approaching him, he turned his gaze and found the Northern Water Tribe chief who was standing behind him.

“The calm before the battle is unbearable” he said as Katara left the ice palace and stood next to Aang “it is too calm for a fear”

“I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people” Aang said feeling a bit disappointed to leave the air nomads at their worst situation “I'm going to make a difference this time”

* * *

At dusk the Northern Water Tribe warriors positioned themselves at the city main entrance and remained there for a few minutes, looking, the first fireball was thrown hitting the center of the Northern Water Tribe emblem engraved on the main wall, the strength of the impact was so great that it ended up pushing the soldiers several meters away. A second fireball landed in the heart of the city and a third approached, Aang jumped on Appa and flew away to face the Fire Nation army. The main ship launched several fireballs, and when Aang got closer, he managed to deflect a fireball towards the nearest ice block. He jumped off Appa, expanded his glider and began to evade the soldiers attacks as soon as he landed on the deck and pushed away those who were approaching to him. After disabling the fireball catapults on the main ship, a soldier caught him by throwing chains at him; however, Aang was rescued by Appa, who grabbed the attacker with one of his paws and threw him overboard. Suddenly the ship is attacked by waterbenders and is immobilized, Aang jumped on Appa and head to the next ship and was surprised to see hundreds of Fire Nation ships in front of him.

Meanwhile, chief Arnook commanded the men who had volunteered for his mission.

“Men, you will infiltrate in the Fire Nation army” Arnook said to the soldiers who were in that ice base with him “that means that everyone will need one of these uniforms”

One of the warriors whose name was Hahn, showed up wearing a Fire Nation army uniform from eighty-five years ago, Sokka laughed calling all the Northern Water Tribe men attention.

"What's your problem?" Hahn asked looking at Sokka while frowning slightly.

"Fire Nation uniforms don't look like that," Sokka replied as he pointed to the uniform the young man was wearing.

“Of course, it is” he replied “these are real uniforms captured from the soldiers of the Fire Nation army”

“When, a hundred years ago?”

"Eighty-five" chief Arnook explained.

“Listen, the Fire Nation no longer uses spikes on their shoulders. The new uniforms are more aerodynamic.”

"How do we know we can trust this guy?" Hahn asked Arnook and looked away at Sokka as he clenched his fist "it's a very bold conversation for being a new recruit."

"Sokka is from our sister tribe, Hahn" Arnook told him "he is a warrior capable of anything and I value his opinion. Now our first goal is to determine the identity of your commanding officer”

“His name is Zhao” Sokka said “middle age, large burns, bad temper”

“Sokka, I want you to tell everything you know to Hahn” chief Arnook asked “he is the one who directs this mission” he turned his gaze at the young man next to the Southern Water Tribe boy “Hahn show Sokka your respect, I don’t expect nothing less about my future son-in-law”

“What?! Princess Yue is going to marry you?” Sokka asked a little surprised by what he had just heard.

"Yes, what about that?" Asked the young man from the Northern Water Tribe.

“Nothing. Congratulations” Sokka replied muttering the last word under his breath a bit annoyed.

Aang could not went through with this anymore, he sat on Appa's head over the Fire Nation army fleets. He had shot down thirteen ships with Appa's help, dodging fireballs and spears through the air, flying through the metal with his airbending, his breath becoming gasps as did Appa's as they floated. Aang shielded his eyes as he gazed out at the sunset, he leaned over Appa's side at the sound of chains rattling. He saw the anchors of all the ships fall and knew there would be a pause, even if it was small one. Aang pulled hard on Appa's reins, leading them back to the city, feeling exhausted in mind and body. He cast one last longing look over his shoulder, he had not seen Zuko or his ship, which wake up his concern, Zuko always seemed to intend to capture him and the prince already knew he would be at the North Pole, so why he was not there? Aang sighed, he lowered his head in frustration as he and Appa got closer and closer to the city. Even though his heart was begging for him and the prince to meet again, Aang could not get lost in his thoughts towards Zuko anymore, after all, he had an invasion to stop, no matter how much he wanted to be safe in his arms.

"Aang, what happened there?!" the young airbender looked up as soon as he saw Katara and Yue running towards him.

"I can't do this, I can't do this…" Aang said with his head lowered "I must have shot down a dozen of Fire Nation ships, but there are too many "I can't fight all of them!”

“But you have to. You are the Avatar” Yue said looking at him with pleading eyes.

"I'm just a kid" Aang replied as he hid his face between his knees, Katara knelt next to him and put a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort his friend.

Meanwhile, on Zhao's ship, Zuko, who was already dressed in a winter outfit, was untying one of the boats and prepared to take a short trip to the Northern Water Tribe, look for the Avatar and if he was not in the mood for a confrontation, he would try talking to him or perhaps ask him what he had planned to ask once he saw him. Someone approached to the place where he was and when he turned his gaze a little, he could see Iroh standing behind him, the old man also made sure that no one came there and discovered Zuko stealing one of the boats.

“If you're fishing an octopus, my nephew. You will need a well woven net or else he will escape through the tiniest hole” Iroh advised the the Fire Nation prince who stopped what he was doing and placed the rope inside the boat.

"I don't need your wisdom now, uncle" Zuko said without even looking at him.

“I'm sorry, I didn't want to give you any more problems” Iroh apologized “I only scolded you because… well, you know that since I lost my son”

"Stop, you don't have to tell me again," the prince of the Fire Nation interrupted, understanding the pain of the old man who was by his side all that time traveling in search of the Avatar.

"I think of you as one" he added, Zuko turned his gaze to him.

“I know, uncle. Don't worry, we will see each other again” the Fire Nation prince said as he bowed in front of him as a farewell, Iroh approached him and hugged him for a brief second before Zuko broke apart from him and climbed up to the boat “after I find the Avatar”

He got on the boat and prepared to sail towards the frozen Northern Water Tribe shores, Iroh looked at his nephew who was sailing away from Zhao's boat and before sailing away until he was out of sight, he moved a little closer to talk to him.

“Make sure to keep your uniform closed up to the neck” Iroh advised “and remember to warm up your chi, your fire breath could save your life”

"I will" Zuko replied, after saying that he continued sailing until the boat was meters away from Zhao's ship, Iroh looked at the boat that was moving away from there and raised a hand in goodbye.

"Be careful" he begged.

At the Water Tribe warriors' barracks, Sokka was sharpening an ax and next to him was Princess Yue's fiancé, Hahn, who was also working on sharpening his own weapon. Both teenagers did not speak for a while until the boy from the Northern Water Tribe boy decided to speak to break the silence and because he also wanted to tease Sokka a bit, maybe he could be a bit idiot, but he knew perfectly the type of relationship the Southern Water Tribe warrior kept with his fiancée.

“Let me tell you something, Sokka” Hahn said without neglecting his task “I have courted many girls before, but Yue is the best... and she has the most benefits”

“Benefits?!” Sokka said as she turned her gaze to the boy a little annoyed “what do you mean with that?!”

“I mean… Yue is great and all that, but the points I'm going to get with the chief aren't too bad either.”

"Princess Yue wastes her time with an absorted weasel like you!" Sokka murmured still angry with him, it was more than clear that Hahn did not know his fiancée in the least.

“Whoa, wait and what do you care?” Hahn said trying to calm the Southern Water Tribe boy “you're just a simple peasant from the Southern Water Tribe, what would you know about the political complexities in our lives? no offense”

Okay! enough was enough! Sokka shouted angrily causing Hahn to stop his task to look at him without being able to understand very well what was wrong with him, but then he could see how Sokka lunged towards him and both began to fight under the other warriors confused gazes.

"You are a jerk without soul! no offense” Sokka told Hahn angrily as they continued fighting, until chief Arnook appeared at the barracks only to find both boys fighting each other.

"Al right, enough!" Arnook said as he separated them "Sokka, you are out of the mission!"

“Okay, get up, men” Hanh said “now everyone listen to what I say, and we will beat this Admiral Cho in no time!”

"It's Admiral Zhao!" Sokka yelled, still angry with the boy from the Northern Tribe, crossed his arms while gritting his teeth showing his annoyance.

Zuko headed to the ice shores near the Northern Water Tribe main wall in his kayak, noticing that the turtle seals dove into an opening in the ice. Knowing that those creatures had to go looking for air somewhere; Zuko took a deep breath and dived behind them, as the nearly full moon reached the cusp of the night sky, Zuko gasped, his body trembling as he crawled out of the hole, he leaned against a curve of the cold wall, trying to calm his fluttering heart and stabilize his breathing. His body ached, the cold surrounded him, his wet winter suit did not help him much, he closed his eyes, snuggled his body for a moment knowing that he needed to recover strength and wits before he could continue, it was a few minutes before he was ready to moving around, he continued using his fire breath to keep his blood in constant circulation, his uncle was right, the fire breath was saving his life. His eyes widened, his pupils narrowed and he frowned in frustration at the thought of the old man, if he continued with his plan he might never see him again, he stretched his legs before standing up from his little icy hole.

Sokka was still in the now at empty barracks sharpening the blade of his boomerang, when, suddenly, chief Arnook approached him.

"Is something wrong, Sokka?" he asked to the Southern Water Tribe boy.

“Oh no. Hahn is out there leading the top secret mission while I am here sharpening my boomerang, everything is fine” Sokka replied sarcastically as he checked the blade of his weapon.

“Listen to me. There is something I need to show you, come with me” chief Arnook said, Sokka did not doubt what he was saying and both left the barracks, he walked towards an igloo where Pakku was planning the next strategy with a map of the tribe spread out on a table.

“The city was designed to withstand an assault. If we keep the soldiers cornered in the courtyard and the marketplace until nightfall, where we will have a greater advantage, we will achieve success” the waterbender explained to the other waterbenders of the tribe while pointing to the map “but if we let many of them get in the city, their numbers could overwhelm us, as many firebending masters must be weakened as soon as possible as the alarm sounds, we want to minimize their sources of power”

“In addition, I must assign a guard who is with the princess at all time” Arnook told to Pakku as he approached to him “her presence is our inspiration to win this battle”

At hearing this, Sokka took the opportunity to offer to protect Princess Yue and stand by her side as the Fire Nation attacked the tribe.

"I will" Sokka agreed humbly "that will be me. I will be her guard, nothing bad will happen to her”

Zuko ascended into an air hole in the icy water to catch his breath, he saw another passage underwater and he heads towards it but ended up meeting into an ice barrier. Using his firebending, Zuko melts the ice and makes his way into a passage inside the city, where he paused for a moment to rest, while pressing his back against the cold wall, he looked around a corner to see if someone was nearby, when all of a sudden he heard footsteps approaching him and he go back to his hiding place, retreating even further to avoid being seen, other footsteps walked in the opposite direction and joined the noise, two silhouettes met above him and saw them a little distorted. Through the ice (and if his eyes were correct) Zuko was sure that the one who had been running recently was the Southern Water Tribe warrior who was traveling with the Avatar.

"Hey, you" the boy yelled, stopping in front of a guard "have you seen Princess Yue?"

“Yes sir. She is with the Avatar and your sister; they’re going to the oasis behind the palace” the guard replied on alert as if it were a cat.

"Thank you" the boy said running towards the palace.

“Wait, sir” the guard shouted “the chief is looking for you, I think he said he needs to discuss some strategies and techniques with you before the sun rises”

“Eh? but I'm supposed to protect Yue.”

"She will be fine, sir, I say that for myself. She is with the Avatar and your sister, who is a very talented waterbender, also the oasis is completely isolated, they will be fine.”

Zuko was not interested in listening to the rest of the conversation, he began to go deeper and deeper into the hiding place where he was, discovering that it was more like a giant pipe made of ice and from what he understood about pipes was that They had a path that led somewhere, a beginning and an end. The light began to fade more as he progressed through that tunnel, but he didn't dare to use his firebending to light his way, he didn't need to break out of his hiding place and expose himself before the time was right, for some reason. He felt like he had been walking for a long time in the cold turning one lap after another in that long and endless passage and Zuko feared that he had made the wrong decision by having walked through that tunnel. But then, the light began to flow again in the place where it was and finally managed to reach the end of it, running into an opening.

A smile was drawn on the prince's face when he saw that he was outside the palace, and not only that, he was behind it, now he only had to enter that oasis and the Avatar would be completely his. He moved towards the opening, watching every moment to be sure that no one else was following him, he came to a wall and managed to reach a small round wooden door placed in the middle of it, he almost considered using it but decided not to because that would throw off the wow factor, he walked along the wall trying to find some other access point or shorter way that he could climb up and enter the oasis, he found a small section on the left side of the wall that was cracked and crumbling a little, he take this opportunity to easily enter through that crack and access to the oasis.

His body was hidden in the shadows and he stopped at the pleasant heat that invaded him, Zuko stood up on the other side of the oasis managing to see the Avatar, his friend, the waterbender and a girl with white hair, for which he deduced that it was Princess Yue. He keep leaning against those high frozen walls that surrounded the small place, he looked around trying to find a way to escape once he managed to take Aang, while he watched the small group of girls who were talking in that oasis, he managed to see a path in the back of it. Zuko began to memorize that path with his eyes, looking how it zigzagged up the steep ice walls, passed a waterfall and finally reached the top, well, at least he had already found his escape route, he arrived to a position where he was now facing the group on the other side of the bridge leading to the middle of the oasis, he was startled when the Avatar's eyes began to glow like the arrows tattooed on his body, he began to think that probably he had entered the Avatar state which he had only seen once when they met at the South Pole, he backed away fearing a possible attack; however, Aang just remained there, sitting, completely still making Zuko's curiosity grow more, what was going on?

"Is he okay?" Princess Yue asked anxiously increasing Zuko's own worries.

"He's crossing into the spirit world" the Southern Water Tribe girl said staring at the Avatar. Zuko did not like the way her eyes softened when she looked at him, Aang deserved someone much better than her “he'll be fine as long as we don't move his body. That is his way back to the physical plane”

Zuko dissolved into the shadows, he walked towards the bridge, it was time to make his appearance, he could easily get rid of that girl and finally he would stay with Aang.

“Maybe we should ask for help.”

She is a smart princess, Zuko thought with a smile, but it was too late, he had entered there with the intention of taking Aang and no one could stop him.

“No! he’s my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting him” Katara replied.

"Well... aren't you a big girl now?" Zuko asked sarcastically, pausing at the top of the bridge as he mocked her.

“No.”

“Yes” he said smugly, he saw how Yue left the oasis, a part of him felt happy because she did not need to be in the middle of that fight “give it to me and I promise I won't hurt you” instead of listening to him and step back, Katara got into a defensive stance according to a waterbender and Zuko got into an offensive stance in response. A part of him was glad to have the opportunity to fight her, since from what he understood, this girl had been the Avatar's first romantic interest since the first moment he saw her and Zuko wanted to prove his worth in that fight and that he was perfectly capable of keeping the little monk safe and that he deserved his affection before her. He made the first move throwing a fire blast followed by two blows, sending more firebending attacks towards her, his eyes widened as the girl easily deflected all his attacks with her waterbending, her constant attacks propelled him to going straight towards her, he had no way to avoid her waterbending attacks, which ended up pushing him away, landing face down in the grass, apparently that girl had gotten much stronger since the last time they saw each other, but Zuko had also gotten stronger. He was not going to underestimate her like he did with Aang the first time they fought, after all, she had the moon on her side... for now “I see you've learned a new trick, but I haven't gotten so far to lose against you” he sat up with his back to her, when he was standing, he turned and threw a fireball at her hoping to catch her off guard. Even so, the efforts the Fire Nation prince efforts were in vain, she easily put out her fire using waterbending, but it did not end up there, of course not, she send another wave and he had no chance to defend himself this time, Zuko stumbled near the place where he began to fight and suddenly, his feet were caught in a layer of ice, his eyes widened as he saw how the water began to rise around him creating a sphere that enclosed him and everything stopped As soon as his rival turned the water he used to enclose him in a sphere of ice, that was nothing more than a simple improvement of her waterbending skills, those skills could not have been learned by herself unless... unless it had been thaught by a waterbender “you, little peasant” he growled lighting the fire inside him realizing that the only way to get out of there was by exploding that sphere of ice “I see that you have found a teacher, haven't you?” the remains of the sphere that he had been locked in flew through the air and some ot them fall in the water, he shoot a fireball after another towards his rival. He pushed his way towards her, dodging her attacks, getting closer and closer, when he got close enough, Zuko reached out with his fire enveloped hand, reaching for her, trying to scare her away. She knelt down and countered his attack, soon they were exchanging blows very closely, Zuko dodged her, directing a fireblast towards her face, kicking her foot back. His trick managed to fool her and she used a little water that was in front of her and not from where Zuko had previously moved from, she turned her back on him as soon as her eyes fell on Aang... and his mind abandoned the battle for a moment, he approached, with his guard completely down, he reached out and his fingers touched the soft fabric of the robe, however, the moment was interrupted when he felt a splash of cold water that attacked him from behind and was pushed to the other side of the oasis. Zuko collapsed, his brain scrambled as soon as he managed to react, but it was too late, he gasped as he felt cornered by a wave of water that instantly turned into ice immobilizing him. He felt the hard burden of not sleeping for several days along with the deadly cold that enveloped him, he could not escape, he closed his eyes letting his body give in to that frozen prison, he would wait and keep his strength, it would not be long for the fight will turn in his favor. A few minutes passed, and the Fire Nation prince felt the first sun rays appear, the heat resurfaced through his body as if it were a fire at the same time that his spirit connected with the maximum source of power of the firebending: the sun. He raised his head, raised his body temperature with the help of the sun, steam gushed from his nose as he melted his icy prison, landing easily on the grass, he clasped his fists as he launched a powerful firebending attack towards the girl, he smiled satisfactorily seeing how she tried to evade his attack but it was too strong and pushed it away hitting her head with a wooden post, which knocked her unconscious, he stood in front of her as the sun rose behind him, her vision blurred and before she hit the ground, Katara could see Zuko grab Aang by the collar of his robe. Zuko knew that he would not see the sun again, at least not for a while while taking the Avatar into the unknown, so he took all the power he could from that small oasis “you raise with the moon” he said looking at the girl he just fought with “but I raise with the sun”

Zuko took Aang's almost inert body into his arms, placed the boy on his back, secured his arms around Aang's legs, and positioned the boy's arms over his own shoulders. He backed away from the girl, feeling his chest swell with pride.

He had won the battle against her, he had proven that he was worthy of Aang's affection, Aang belonged to him completely, and she could do nothing to stop him.

By the time Katara regained consciousness, she realized that Aang was gone, Sokka and Yue arrived at the oasis in Appa and a distraught Katara warned them that Zuko had taken Aang away.

"I can't believe I lost him" Katara said on the verge of tears "this is all my fault, I was supposed to keep an eye on him and I couldn't"

"Don't worry, you did everything you could" Sokka told to his sister, wanting to comfort her "now we have to do everything possible to get him back. Zuko could not have gone far, we'll find him, Aang will be fine”

“Okay” Katara said as she got up from the grass in that oasis and walked with her brother and Yue towards Appa, she got on the saddle, standing next to the white haired princess, Momo began to emit little coo “okay stay here Momo in case Aang comes back”

With those last words, Sokka, Katara, and Princess Yue set off in Appa to search for Aang as the Fire Nation continued to execute their attack on the Northern Water Tribe.

* * *

Zuko gasped as he collapsed on the snow, he snorted wearily as he tried to move forward, he looked over his shoulder at the path he had just made in the snow, that was not what he expected. First he climbed up one of the longest and steepest unimaginable trails, he did it all bearing the young airbender weight on his back, by the time he reached the top it started snowing and his stomach clenched at the sight of the snowy desolate field that was expanding in front of him, beyond what any common eye could perceive, seriously he did not expect to see that, he believed that he would find more water when he reached the top but instead he ran into that extensive ice field. He simply pulled Aang as close to his body as he could and continued with his journey, accepting the fact that he was going to have a long walk while a snowstorm raged, he could not feel colder than he already was at that precise moment, but without even noticing it, he took a wrong step and the ground began to crumble under the prince's feet and he began to run as fast as he could so as he do not fall towards certain death. That gave him more trouble, but it was worth it, his golden orbs almost straying towards the unconscious boy in the snow next to him, almost. Zuko looked around and his eyes saw a crack in the ice that seemed to be a cave.

"Shelter…" he murmured cautiously, taking Aang in his arms once more and carrying him with him to his temporary hiding place. As soon as he get entered, he stumbled into that frozen room looking around as he pulled Aang towards him, gently dropped his weight and took off the rope that he carried around his shoulders, stopped in the middle of his task and looked at the Avatar limp body. He was thinking of tying him up as a precautionary measure, he would probably be disoriented when he woke up and maybe the first thing he would do as soon as he saw him would be to attack him and since the last time they met, things had not ended well. Zuko needed Aang to be calm if he wanted to explain his plan to him, because he was still a bit confused about the situation, but he had to try. He placed his arms behind his back, tying them as gently as possible, keeping the rope as slack as possible but without the bindings of coming undone easily. Once Aang was tied up, he laid him down in the most comfortable place he found in that frozen room, put a hand towards his unconscious face and began to touch it carefully, all this will be worth it, Zuko thought, it had to be worth it. He stood up, putting Aang aside for a moment to try to gather some wood or firewood to light a bonfire and keep warm while they were sheltered from the blizzard, he pulled on the hood of his winter suit and adjusted it tightly around his head barely entered on the storm again. He did not dare to go too far from the shelter, he was only rummaging around there, he managed to find several pieces of frozen wood that he could easily unfreeze with his firebending, he smiled as soon as he go back to their hiding place, he lit a fire in the middle of that cold cave, lifted Aang, brought him close to the bonfire and leaned him against the icy wall, Zuko snuggled next to the young airbender for a moment, he rubbed his hands throwing fire at them to try to keep warm, he looked at Aang carefully for a few seconds a little doubtful as his hands fluttered between them before pulling them closer and wrapping Aang in his arms in a warm hug. He sighed at the heat emanating from his body, something he had not felt for a month now, not since... for a few minutes, Zuko remained like that, hugging Aang, pressing him lightly against his body, the creaking of the ice caught his attention and he looked away at the raging snowstorm outside his shelter, he felt melancholy once again when he saw the snow “it seems that we are going to be here for a while…” he said turning his gaze from the storm to the young airbender “but I finally have you, you’re mine now” he whispered looking at the boy in his arms “Aang, if you can hear me there is something I want to ask you” he paused for a moment thinking of the right words to give his message to the Avatar “that day… in which there was a Fire Nation festival, I was there and I met someone who looked a lot like you, I could not see him because he was wearing a mask, so… I need to know… are you Kuzon?” he looked at the young airbender in his arms that remained in a complete motionless state without showing signs of wanting to move “Aang, answer me! are you Kuzon, yes or not?” again he got no answer, he got up, moving away from the boy and went to stand up at the entrance of the small ice cave “something always have to happen, it's not like you understand it” he murmured in a low voice feeling the wounds he would once felt open again: the pain in his jaw, the bruises that covered his torso, the stinging sensation of his cuts “you're like my sister. Everything was always easy for her; she is a very talented firebender and everyone loves her. My father says she was born lucky, he told me that I was lucky to be born” that had been a painful truth that he had to deal with years ago, after he disgraced his father on the battlefield by not being able to defeat his opponent. His father's eyes had grown so cold despite the warm golden color they had as they looked at an eleven-year-old prince. Zuko realized at that moment that his father did not love him, he looked at Aang out of the corner of his eye, there was no doubt that the Avatar was like his sister, Azula, in certain respects. Aang, like Azula, had a great talent for airbending, he was kind and happy, he made everyone around him feel the same and that was the difference, the difference that allowed Zuko to let Aang into his heart and being able to exclude Azula, they were both adored, but for different reasons: Azula was adored because she was powerful and ruthless, she was feared. While Aang was adored because he was loving and cheerful, he brought hope to the world. Zuko turned his gaze away to the snowstorm that was falling with intensity “however, I don't need luck, I never need it” he said with resolution, wanting to dispel his dark thoughts “I had to fight and fight and that was what made me strong, made me who I am”

He nodded at his words, walked away from the cave entrance and sat down next to Aang again, decided that he would rest a bit and lay down on the ground, he pulled Aang towards him so he could hug him and have him closer for a moment. He closed his eyes, burying his face in the gap between the Avatar's neck and shoulder, feeling the warmth of his body as he placed a soft kiss on that delicate skin. The snowstorm was still intense just like the last time he dared to check, he sighed, settled himself facing the Avatar and ran one of his hands over his cheek, then he sat down correctly and leaned his back against the cold wall with the Avatar wrapped tightly around his arms.

Aang gasped as he passed from the spirit world to the physical world again, he always felt strange every time he did that, but he was used to it. He was the Avatar after all, he was standing in the oasis and he smiled when he saw his little lemur friend asleep in the grass, obviously waiting for Aang.

"Momo" he yelled approaching. His smile faded a bit when the lemur did not hear him “Momo?” Aang extended his hand and that's when he realized that he was still in his spirit form “oh no” he looked around looking for something “where's my body?” and just as he said it he felt his spirit deform a little and became a ball of light, launching itself into the air and flying over the snowy field, and as soon as it happened, Aang felt his spirit barely become solid entered his body again. His eyes widened, slowly absorbing the cold and ice that surrounded him, the next thing he realized was that he was tied by hands and feet. He was confused, what the heck was going on?

“Aang...”

He heard a voice call out to him, a voice he hope he will never have to hear again, he sat up as fast as he could with his gray eyes wide as he looked at Zuko, who was in front of him. As soon as he saw him, Aang jumped slightly and pulled away from him as best he could, although he did so awkwardly.

"Zuko" the young airbender whispered, he was confused, upset, happy and a whirlwind of many other feelings that words were not enough to express.

"Welcome back" Zuko said, Aang's heart melted at those words, noticing the tenderness in Zuko's eyes as soon as he saw him.

"I'm glad to be back" Aang replied with a smile, how he wished he could hug Zuko with all his strength and join his lips with the Fire Nation prince’s ones, but then he remembered that he was tied hand and feet “uh... Zuko, why am I tied up?”

“I was afraid that you would attack me or escape from me when you woke up” the Fire Nation prince replied “so I had to tie you up to avoid that”

"Well, as you can see, I have no intention on attacking you" Aang said, but he had to admit that he understood the reasons why Zuko had tied him up like that. He reckon maybe he was not going to leave Aang tied down if he was going to talk to him, so he untied the knots on the ropes releasing him, but only temporarily, once they finished talking, he was going to tie him up again.

"Aang, I need to talk to you..." Zuko muttered, Aang looked at him, the cold of that cave had seriously affected him but his body temperature was stable thanks to his internal fire, even so, he was too weak to even try to invoke it. The airbender decided that he should do something to help him revive that fire, without even hesitating and following the wishes of his heart, he took Zuko by the neck of his winter suit and joined their lips in a warm kiss, that was the temperature perfect for dissipating the cold, and yet he was not even close to both of them getting warm, he wrapped his arms around his waist and rubbed against it, eliciting a groan. They could barely break apart to breathe, their eyes connected, both wanted this, they had missed each other's contact for a whole month and they needed to give way to passion. Their lips were chapped and their bodies frozen and yet, Aang had never felt better and warmer in his life, his lips tingled as he felt Zuko's ones press against his again, he gasped just as the warm tongue gently delineated his lips, his body trembled in response to that simple and pleasant action, his heart beat hard as he take back the kiss pressing his lips slowly against Zuko's ones, he wanted so much for the latest one to touch him and give him the pleasure that only he knew how to provide. Zuko had to admit that he missed this too, being able to be close to Aang, feeling his soft lips press against his, they had not been that way since they had their first kiss, but then he remembered the reason why he had brought the airbender there so he had no choice but to pull away “Aang, wait” with a little difficulty, the Fire Nation prince managed to pull the young boy away who was looking at him with disappointment reflected in his gray eyes “it’s not what you think, I also want to be like this with you, but I need to ask you something important and if I don't do it now... I probably won't remember later”

"Appa!" Aang yelled surprised, Zuko turned his gaze without understanding what he was talking about and finally he understood what was happening, the flying bison landed not far away from the cave they were hiding in. Aang held his breath, he saw Zuko as he exhaled and threw him out of the cave with an airbending attack that forced him to fall outside in the snow, then he propelled himself into the snow, landing with a huff, turn around his axis and crawled away like a caterpillar, trying to escape and wanting to get to where his friends were as soon as possible, but, surprisingly, a hand took him by the collar of his robe and lifted him up, being face to face with an angry Zuko.

“Where do you think you are going? I'm not done with you yet" Zuko shouted "besides, you didn't even hear what I have to told you" he saw Katara jump down from the saddle, the Fire Nation prince dropped Aang in the snow and stood into attack position “are you here for a rematch?”

"Trust me, Zuko, this isn't going to be a rematch" it only took a few seconds for her to force Zuko up into the air with the help of a snow column and let him fall to the ground, knocking him down. Aang was freed with Sokka's help and with his friends next to him, he was able to focus on his goal.

“We need to go back to the oasis, the spirits are in trouble” Aang told them, he ran back to Appa, but while Sokka, Katara and Yue were preparing to leave, Aang stopped his steps and looked at Zuko “we can't leave him here” he said while he walked back to lift the prince inert body and carried it with him to the saddle before leaving.

“Yes, it makes a lot of sense. Let's bring with us the guy who is constantly trying to kill us” Sokka said sarcastically as soon as Aang jumped towards Appa with his precious load while Sokka was in charge of tying Zuko's hands so that he couldn't attack them with his firebending once he woke up.

Zuko felt the knowledge return to him, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around, his hands were tied and apparently, he was also in the saddle of the Avatar's bison. He noticed that Princess Yue was sitting in front of him, in front of the saddle, he moved his hands smiling as he managed to untie the knots of the ropes easily, apparently it was knots of an amateur, he just finished and sat down, he finally managed realize what was happening.

Upon reaching the oasis he could see Aang and his friends confront Zhao, who had already taken the white koi fish out of the pond and placed it triumphantly inside a bag, the full moon transformed, turning from white to blood red in question of seconds. The waterbenders lost their abilities and the Fire Nation army was able to advance. Zuko growled furiously when he saw the man, Zhao was going to pay for committing an assassination attempt on the Fire Nation prince and also for torturing the Avatar, a boy to be more specific and touching him without his consent. When the guards came to attack, he said "don't even try" and raised a fist, pointing at the bag. The white haired princess in front of Zuko gasped as she brought a hand to her mouth, he saw Aang drop his staff, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture as he spoke. Zhao held the Moon spirit in his hands, he would finally get what he wanted: kill the all-powerful spirit.

“He was right, Zhao” Zuko turned his gaze along with the others present in the oasis and he could see his uncle standing on one of the bridges.

"General Iroh, why am I not surprised of your betrayal?" Zhao asked a little annoyed.

“I am not a traitor, Zhao. The Fire Nation also needs the moon, we all depend on balance” Iroh said calmly, Zuko believed in his words “whatever you do to the spirit of the Moon, I will do it ten times worse LET IT GO, NOW!” he yelled fiercely.

Zuko could see a small glimpse of the famous Dragon of the West in his uncle and a part of him felt proud that this man was his relative. Zuko looked how Zhao seemed to give in and put the koi fish back in the pond. But Zhao was a man corrupted by his desire for power and glory and he did the most unthinkable at the time, he killed the Moon spirit with a single firebending slash. The sky darkened and Zuko felt again the fury he had towards the admiral, not only he tried to assassinate him and torture the Avatar, but he also killed an all-powerful spirit and altered the balance of the world. Even he knew that doing something like that was wrong and something unthinkable and inhuman, his uncle threw a firebending attack and the Fire Nation prince saw the admiral escape, he did not think to allow Zhao to escape, not this time. He silently slipped off the flying bison's back and ran into the darkness in pursuit of Zhao.

He caught up him in the city centre and launched a fireball to call the man's attention and they began to fight, Zuko was determined and focused, just like the Agni Kai they had months ago. Zhao attacked viciously, but Zuko easily avoided his attacks. The man was reckless and out of control and as long as Zuko stayed focused and in control, this battle would end in his favor. That fight led them to move around the city until they reached an ice bridge, it suddenly became lighter, but Zuko did not stop to see why, he had to focus on that battle and show who was the strongest of them. And suddenly, a watery form appeared out of nowhere above and around them. Zuko did not know what it was, but he was trying to corner them, he moved out of the way to avoid being caught; however, Zhao was not so lucky. He turned around and saw the man caught in what seems to be a hand made of water and was slowly sliding away from the bridge. Zuko had already made up his mind, he was going to help Zhao, yes, the man might be an asshole and also a tyrant, but he did not deserve to die the way he was going to die. Zuko ran up to him, jumped over the railing and held out his hand.

"Take my hand," he yelled but Zhao withdrew his hand at the last moment, rejecting Zuko's help and disappeared under the depths of the water. Zuko looked to where he had disappeared, it did not seem fair that he died that way. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the moon had been restored, his face showed confusion, he looked at the moon for a moment or two, then remembered his uncle, jumped off the railing, and ran as fast as he could back to the oasis.

This time he used the wooden door he saw the first time he was there to enter, he saw his uncle, he found the man standing next to the Southern Water Tribe girl and her brother, the latest one seemed upset just like his uncle and the girl. The Avatar stepped aside as well, Aang looked at him as he get inside and returned his gaze. Their gazes connected for a few seconds, he gave Aang the quickest and slightest smile before going back with his uncle, Iroh looked at him with a curious expression, scrutinizing him, but Zuko did not say anything, he only indicated to his uncle to accompany him, they needed to leave while there was still confusion and disorder so that that way they could easily disappear and go unnoticed. His uncle followed him and they left the oasis, not before Zuko stopped to look at Aang for the last time, there would be time to clarify his doubts about Kuzon, for now, they should go back to the usual routine, now that Zhao was out of his way, there was no one who could snatch the Avatar from him.

After the calm come back aftet the intense battle against the Fire Nation army, the Avatar team was already on top of Appa flying away from the Northern Water Tribe. Aang smiled when he thought that he saw Zuko again, feeling that something stronger had happened between them, whatever it was, he had the feeling that it was something that tightened their bond more than just being enemies, the only thing that he knew was that this was a good thing for both of them, perhaps in the not too distant future this special connection would help them get closer.


	8. Chapter VII: The chase

After deciding that he would be better alone and leaving his uncle behind, Zuko traveled through semi-arid land riding his ostrich horse. The sun was warm but strong at the same time and with its rays it burned intensely the sweaty skin of his neck as soon as he crossed a bridge, he almost fell but he put the saddle back in place with a haggard look and an empty stomach, he had been a long time without eating anything, he suddenly stopped when he perceived a pleasant scent, he turned his gaze to find a man cooking a large piece of meat over an open flame. Zuko put a hand on his stomach which was growling begging for some food and brought his free hand towards the hilt of his broadsword; however, he stopped when he saw that the man was traveling with a pregnant woman so he simply continued on his way, struggling to stay conscious. His vision blurred and he closed his eyes, as he did so, the silhouette of a woman walking through a dark corridor with a hood over her head appeared, Zuko opened his eyes again but lowered his head, wanting to somehow forget that strange vision.

Finally, he managed to reach a village. Upon entering, he passed some Earth Kingdom soldiers, who watched Zuko for a moment, dismounted his ostrich horse and headed towards a small shop where he found the owner, a merchant, standing behind the counter.

"Can you give me some water, a bag of feed and a hot meal to eat?" Zuko asked as he extended his hand forward revealing a small amount of coins.

“There's not enough for a hot meal” the man replied “but I can get you two feed bags”

As soon as the merchant went to get the feed bags for Zuko, two children who were hidden on the other side of the counter threw an egg at the soldiers who were right behind Zuko and ran to hide. Believing that Zuko had thrown the egg, the soldiers glared at him and get up from the ground to confront him.

“Hey” the leader of the soldiers, called Gow, exclaimed, the Fire Nation prince did not look at them and just stood in his place “are you the one who has been throwing eggs at us, stranger?”

"No" Zuko replied without looking at him.

"Did you see who threw it?" the soldier asked with an annoyed frown.

"No" Zuko said, turning around in front of them at the same time he sneaked a hand to the hilt of his broadsword.

“Is that your favorite word? no?” another soldier asked in a mocking tone.

"It must come out from somewhere" Gow commented.

"Maybe a chicken flew by” Zuko replied turning his back on them, the second soldier laughed but his leader looked at him angrily making him shut up. As soon as the merchant brought the feed bags for Zuko, Gow pushed him aside and took both bags.

“Thanks for your contribution” Gow said as he took the feed bags “the army appreciates your support” he threw the bag of food to one of the soldiers “it's better that you leave the village as soon as possible, the penalty for staying too long is tigher than you can afford, stranger” he hit his heavy metal hammer with his hand “trust me”

“Sorry about that. Those soldiers are supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation” the merchant told to Zuko, they both saw Gow and his men go away from there “but they are nothing than a bunch of thugs”

Zuko turned and walked back to his ostrich horse, but before he could get up, the boy who previously threw the egg at Gow appeared from the other side.

“Hey! thanks for not giving me away” the boy said smiling, Zuko ignored him, he got on his ostrich horse and started to move away from there, the boy made a slight expression of annoyance but decided to follow him “I am going to take you to my house and feed your ostrich horse” he took the reins of the animal and began to walk “come on, I owe you one”

Zuko and Lee, that was the boy's name, came to a farm full of various types of animals, including pig cows that emitted loud squeaks as soon as they saw them approach to the house. Lee commented that the noise was good because that way, no one could approach them, while the boy was going to leave Zuko's ostrich horse in the stable, his father, Gansu, approached to the Fire Nation prince, the man asked him if he was a friend of Lee's, he told him about Zuko's little confrontation with the soldiers. Sela, Lee's mother, asked for the name of the newcomer, Zuko stuttered for a moment before answering, he did not want to use his typical pseudonym "Lee" since the boy was also called that, luckily, Gansu intervened saying that he had no an obligation to tell them who he was if he did not want to. He welcomed him home in gratitude for his opposition to the soldiers of the Earth Kingdom.

"Those men should be ashamed of having to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms" Gansu commented after welcoming Zuko.

"The real soldiers are fighting in the war" Sela, Gansu's wife, said "just like Lee's older brother, Sen su. the food will be ready soon, would you like to stay?”

“I can't” the Fire Nation prince replied, no matter how hungry and thirsty he felt, he knew he had to keep traveling “I have to keep going”

"Gansu might need some help working in the barn" Sela said "why don't you work a bit and then we eat together?"

Zuko nodded and went to work, though his inexperience at it was noticeable due to the number of bent nails in the wood. Behind him, Lee started asking him random personal questions, his father silenced him, but despite his order, he remained persistent and asked Zuko how he got the scar on his face. At this, the banished prince accidentally hit his own thumb, momentarily distracted, Gansu tells him that it is not polite to ask so many personal questions and that Zuko's past is none of his business. As Zuko continued hammering, a memory came to mind.

_*Flashback*_

_A young prince Zuko and his mother are sitting by a small pond in the palace gardens, feeding the turtle ducks._

_“Hey mom, do you want to see how Azula feeds the turtle ducks?" Zuko asked and tossed one of them a piece of bread._

_“Zuko why did you do that?” Ursa asked him, one of the baby turtle ducks emerged from the pond after being hit by the piece of bread, the mother turtle duck came out of the pond and bit hard on Zuko's ankle. He screamed in pain as soon as his mother took care to remove the little creature._

_"Stupid turtle duck" Zuko muttered "why did she do that?"_

_“Zuko, that's the way moms are. If you mess with their babies...” Ursa answered as she knelt next to him and pretended to bite him “she’s going to bite you”_

_They laughed briefly before turning their gaze back to the pond. As Zuko and her mother walked back to the palace through a corridor, the young princess Azula was trying to do a cartwheel but fell to the ground with a thud. Behind her, Ty Lee ran forward and performed the move with ease, finishing with several somersaults. Jealous, Azula pushed her away and laughed at her._

_"Azula!" Ty Lee complained as her best friend laughed at her. A young Mai was sitting under a tree with an expression of complete disinterest, she saw Zuko walking through the garden and looked away again, now blushing and smiling to herself. Azula realized this and approached her._

_"Look at this," she whispered to the girl, Ty Lee laughed as Azula ran to her brother and her mother “mom, can you let Zuko play with us? we need equal teams to play”_

_"I'm not doing cartwheels!" Zuko told him._

_“You won't have to” the girl replied as she crossed her arms “besides, doing cartwheels does not count as a game, dumb dumb”_

_“I don't care, I don't want to play with you.”_

_“We are brother and sister, it’s important for us to spend time together” Azula said trying to convince him “don't you think so, mom?”_

_“Yes, darling” Ursa agreed and approached to her son “I think it's a good idea to play with your sister, even if it's just for a moment”_

_Azula explained that the tactic of the game was for the player to knock an apple off the other person's head. She placed an apple on the head of a Mai who had a bored countenance and set it on fire. Zuko rushed forward trying to remove the burning apple from his head, but tripped and collided with Mai, causing them to fall into the fountain, where they landed on top of each other._

_“You see? I told you it would work" Azula commented to Ty Lee placing a hand on her shoulder._

_"Aw, they're so cute together" Ty Lee said teasing them. Mai got up from the water and Zuko came out of the fountain annoyed._

_"You two are so… ugh" Zuko muttered as he walked away from them, by that time, Ursa had already returned._

_“I was going to look for you, Uncle Iroh sent us a letter from the war front” Ursa said holding a scroll in her hand, she saw an embarrassed Zuko walk away from there to go inside to dry himself “you're soaked”_

_"The girls are crazy!" Zuko yelled walking back to the palace. In the letter, Iroh said that if the city was as magnificent as its walls, Ba Sing Se must be something to behold. Continuing with the letter, he also said that he hoped they could come see it one day, that if it gets burned first, to which Zuko and Azula laughed._

_He had also sent gifts for her niece and his nephew. For Zuko, a pearl dagger that belonged to the general who surrendered when Iroh broke through the outer wall. The inscription on the dagger says: Never give up without a fight. Azula, instead, received an Earth Kingdom doll, much to her disgust._

_"If Uncle doesn't come back from the war, then ded would be the next Fire Lord, wouldn't he?" Azula asked her mother._

_“Azula, don't talk like that” Ursa scold “it would be horrible if Uncle Iroh didn't come back and besides, Fire Lord Azulon is a living image of health”_

_"How would you feel if cousin Lu Ten wanted our dad to die?" Zuko asked her sister._

_"I still think our dad would be a much better Fire Lord than that kookie tea lover" the young princess replied and immediately burn the doll._

_*Flashback end*_

As the memory faded, the night had finally come to the farm, Zuko had no choice but to sleep on a pile of hay in the family barn that welcomed him into their home.

"I'm sorry to have to send you to sleep here, but there aren't enough bedrooms in the house" Sela told him.

"Okay, sorry to be a bother" Zuko replied to the woman.

"Don't worry, you'll never be a bother to us" Sela said kindly "I'll see you tomorrow to have breakfast with us at the house. by the way, why have you traveled so far? what’s the purpose of your trip?”

"I'm... I'm looking for someone" Zuko told her "but I don't know if this person is real because the last time we met was at a festival and I'm afraid of not being able to confess my feelings to them"

“I'm sure you'll see him soon and you'll be together in no time.”

"What?!" the Fire Nation prince almost blushed "how do you know it? I never said this person was a boy!”

“A mother knows when someone has a look of love in their eyes and right now you have that look” the woman said smiling “don't worry, my eldest son, Sen su, is quite similar to you, he likes girls but he also likes boys too” Zuko smiled slightly at the thought that he was not the only one with that kind of preferences “well, I'll let you rest. Good night”

“Good night.”

The next day, Zuko climb back on his ostrich horse and ride away from the village with his round hat on his head, on both sides of the street lined with people, an Earth Kingdom flag flew in the breeze.

* * *

While this was happening, Aang landed in a small abandoned city in the Earth Kingdom. He twirled his staff spreading his glider wings and walked down the main street, dipping his hand into the bag he was carrying to remove some strands of Appa's fur spreading them on the ground and thus continue to leave the false track he had created. As he finished walking down the street, he emptied the bag, dumping the rest of the fur in a pile next to where he was standing, waiting for that weird girl and her creepy friends to show up, his eyes rolled in exhaustion, feeling the heaviness of spending two whole days without sleep. He twirled his staff again to force his glider wings get out of their hidden compartments, Aang just stood there, looking the path where he had come, maybe now he could go and get some sleep but at the same time he wanted to face that girl, whoever she was.

He twirled his staff once more spreading his wings again before sitting in a meditating position at the end of the path, right in front of the path his opponent would appear on. For several minutes, Aang dozed in and out of his consciousness, closing his eyes for short periods of time before they snapped open, finally (after waiting for half an hour) he heard the sound of feet and looked up to see the girl, on top of a giant lizard, approaching to him quickly. Aang stayed where he was as she approached, waiting for her and wanting to get answers about who she was and what she wanted.

An hour and a half ago, Zuko urged his ostrich horse to gallop following the trail left by his sister and her friends. He had been traveling alone for weeks, wanting to distance himself from his uncle to reflect a bit, everything had turned into a mess after his failed attempt to capture the Avatar at the North Pole, he was foolish enough to believe that Aang was Kuzon, the masked boy that he saw that time at the festival, in addition to never answering his question so he supposed that the mystery of knowing who Kuzon was would continue like this, as a mystery and nothing else. Therefore, he had no choice but to leave from there with his tail between his legs, he just wants to go back to the Fire Nation and forget that he was ever banished and marked, that he ever met Aang, that they had kissed and also wanted to forget those confused feelings he had towards the airbender. He had planned to erase the Avatar from his mind forever, to bury these feelings deep in his heart, he no longer tried to capture the boy and certainly did not intend to lose his mind trying to find him.

But sometimes heart wants what one desires, as soon as he stopped in a nearby village to replenish supplies, he could see his sister. She had some mechanical means of transportation, probably something that was created during the three years he was not in the Fire Nation, and was threatening a merchant for more information, Zuko hid behind the shadow of a building listening to their conversation.

"Rumor has it that the Avatar has already been around and that he made a purchase at this cabbage stand" she purred with her cold golden eyes despite her fiery color, making the merchant shiver.

“Yes, he did and his pet lemur caused irreparable damage to my cabbages” that man said, rubbing a cabbage against his cheek in an affectionate way making Zuko roll his eyes at that action.

Azula stepped forward and snatched the cabbage from his hands, bouncing it in the palm of her hand like some kind of ball, smirking as the merchant watched her warily.

“If you don't want anything bad to happen to your precious cabbages, then I suggest you tell me in which direction they went” Azula threatened, blue fire sprouted from her fingers floating in a very threatening way, almost brushing the leaves of the innocent cabbage in her hand. The merchant fell to his knees, clasping his hands in a begging way and looked the Fire Nation princess.

“Please don't hurt my cabbages. I'll tell you where they went” the man said with despair reflected in his eyes.

"Then I suggest you start talking" Azula growled, the man extended his hand, pointing towards a small formation of mountains to the east.

"Over there, over there, they flew in that direction!" he answered, his eyes shining with tears from the desperation he was feeling. Azula looked at him closely, suspecting that the merchant was lying to her, but finding no trace of a lie in them, she vanished the fire from her hand and dropped the cabbage into the man's lap.

"Thank you for your help" the Fire Nation princess said and the merchant smiled at her.

" _What an idiot_ " Zuko thought and what exactly supposed had to happen happened, just as Azula turned to leave, she raised her leg and threw a wave of blue fire on the little cabbage stand, setting the whole lot on fire. She smiled as she turned around, Mai and Ty Lee followed behind.

Zuko left the scene, climbed back on his ostrich horse and followed his sister again, it may be that he no longer had any intention of capturing the Avatar, but he would not allow her to get her disgusting hands on him, not as long as Zuko can do something to prevent it so he followed his sister from the distance where he planned to confront her and see Aang again.

Azula reached the end of the road and found Aang waiting for her, she jumped off her lizard, Aang watched her warily as she approached him, walking gracefully with a gasp in her step that screamed for arrogance and power. For some reason, that girl reminded him a bit of Zuko.

" _Zuko..._ " he thought sadly, his head bowed a little, he shook his head trying to dispel his thoughts, what the hell was wrong with him? this was not the time to think about Zuko, Aang had spent many nights awake thinking about the moment they kissed for the first time and their meeting at the North Pole that... unfortunately did not end very well, after leaving the Northern Water Tribe he had to admit that what he felt for Zuko was a very strong feeling, it was probably love, yes, it could be love, but in fact, Aang was not totally sure, he had never had any experience in love, at least in a romantic way, he always thought he was in love with Katara and maybe at some point he felt something for her, but why was the feeling he felt for her was different from the one he felt for Zuko? for now he had to focus on that girl in front of him who had a firebending form that he had never seen before... which worried Aang a bit “okay! you already found me” he spoke with a demanding voice still sitting on the ground “now who are you and what do you want?”

"Are you telling me that you didn't guess? don't you see the family resemblance? Here’s a clue” she said in a mocking voice as she raised a hand and covered her left eye, deepening her voice “I must capture the Avatar to restore my honor” so his theory was correct all this time, that strange girl was Zuko's sister, he looked at her wearily, blinking slowly at her pathetic attempt at a joke “it's okay, you can laugh if you want” she said lightly, removing her hand from her face “it's funny”

His face remained inert as he looked at her, that girl was really strange... and creepy.

"Now what?" Aang asked, waiting for something else to happen.

“Now. Now it's over, you're tired and you have nowhere to go. You can run, but I'll catch you.”

He slowly got to his feet, Aang would no longer be bullied by that kind of people anymore, that girl may come from the Fire Nation but she was still a teenager who seemed to be Katara's age but still, she was still a teenager. He had no reason to fear her, he supposed she was not on the level of Zuko in causing fear... and there he was again, thinking of the banished prince, damn thoughts that did not leave him alone.

"I'm not going to run away" the airbender told her, he noticed a smile spread across the girl's face.

"You really want to fight me" Azula replied with a conceited and confident tone in her voice. Aang was about to answer, but something unexpected happened, Zuko burst out of an old building and stood between the two of them.

"Yes, and I'm serious" further complicating the confrontation, Zuko kept his position between his sister and Aang, the airbender's gray eyes widening as he saw the banished prince standing between them.

"I was wondering when you would appear, Zu-zu" Azula replied crossing her arms and looking at him with a certain hint of mockery, Aang almost laughed at the nickname the girl gave him.

“Get away, Azula! he's mine” Zuko said as he adopted an attacking position, the young airbender could feel a slight blush appear on his face at that moment, was it so obvious what Zuko said? he could swear that the other boy almost blushed when he realized what he had said.

"I'm not going anywhere" the Fire Nation princess said to her brother, she struck the first blow, knocking Zuko down hard, knocking him unconscious. After an intense battle, she cornered Aang in a collapsed and burning building, before Azula could cause a mortal wound, Katara appeared stopping her; one by one, Sokka, Iroh, and Toph joined the battle. Together, the six of them (Katara, Aang, Sokka, Toph, Zuko and Iroh) created a perfect perimeter in front of Azula and corner her “well, look this out. The enemies and the traitors working together” she commented sarcastically “you already caught me, I know very well when I am defeated” she raised her hands in surrender “a princess surrenders with honor”

Iroh lowered his guard and looked away at his new friend, Toph, standing next to the Avatar. Zuko, on the other hand, did not believe what her sister was saying. What the hell was she talking about? she had no honor. Taking advantage of this distraction, Azula attacked Iroh, who screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. Zuko let out a horrified scream and the four benders unleashed their power against Azula as Sokka threw his boomerang at her. The combined attack caused a huge explosion and by the time the smoke cleared, Azula had already disappeared.

Zuko ran over to her uncle, knelt near him and began to scream furiously, cursing his sister for hurting him that way, what had crossed her mind to do something like that? to their own uncle? he felt the presence of Avatar team behind him.

"Get away from us!"

"Zuko, let me help you" Katara offered.

"GET OUT!" He yelled as he released a wave of fire that fortunately did not reach them, the group moved away from the abandoned village leaving Zuko and a gravely injured Iroh completely alone.

Later that night, Appa landed in the mountains and the Avatar team was finally able to rest after spending two long days being chased by Azula and her creepy friends.


	9. Chapter VIII: Crossroads of destiny.

Zuko woke up with a sigh, his eyes slowly widened as he let the dim morning light pour in through his bedroom window and then closed his eyes again, he was so tired but he had promised his uncle that he would help him with work in his new tea shop today, so after a few minutes in his bed, he got up, stretched his arms over his head, yawning as he let in more light from the window as the dawn broke. He got up, walked over to the windowsill and leaned against it, he took a deep breath of the cool, damp morning air, slowly exhaled.

_“That’s it”_ he thought smiling, looking a couple of birds fluttering and playing among them _“today is the beginning of my new life”_

He turned away from the window with straight shoulders and a new purpose, for a while he tried to capture the Avatar so he could confess his feelings to the airbender and also try to find out if he was Kuzon, but then came to the conclusion that that was completely impossible, he had to accept the fact that the masked boy he met at the festival was not real, so he decided to focus on his feelings for Aang, but he had not seen him since they were at Lake Laogai. He went to his closet, opened the doors and looked for something to wear: he took out a dark brown robe with gold details, a base shirt and leggings, he no longer disliked the clothes of the Earth Kingdom, in fact, he got used to wearing them. daily and even almost enjoyed it. He began to dress slowly, his thoughts lost to his uncle who was humming happily from the kitchen, the soft smell of food wafting through the crack in his door.

Zuko paused briefly as he tied the sash around his waist, touching the soft material as he looked toward the door for a few moments. What would he have done without his uncle? his uncle, who was always by his side when he needed him most, who always be there for him, who loved him unconditionally... his uncle, was more than that, he was like a father to him, a better one than Ozai could ever have been. Running a tea shop in Ba Sing Se was not something Zuko planned to do for the rest of his life, this was something Iroh wanted to do and he was happy for him, he had been through a lot and had given everything for him. He would support him until he could start his own life… being the owner his own destiny.

_"Who are you and what do you want?"_

His uncle had all the reasons to ask him that question when they were at Lake Laogai after Zuko freed Appa using his Blue Spirit disguise, because, for a long time, he did not know who he really was, but now he does, he finally discovered his true identity. Zuko snapped out of his thoughts and pulled on his sandals, tapped his toes on the floor so they were snug on his feet and then turned to the mirror in his bedroom, he ran a hand through his hair, absently tracing his scar, the other night he had a strange but very particular dream, he had the dream that he had been the Avatar for a moment, why had that had happened? he was not sure, but he also remembered when he lived with his uncle in Ba Sing Se lower ring, he could see the desperate faces of the refugees, children with dirty clothes and faces stained with tears, he remembered the kisses he shared with Aang and how with each passing day those moments faded, finally, he remembered that he loved Aang, loved him like he had never loved anyone before.

"I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation" he whispered in a low voice, standing up "son of General Iroh and I want there to be peace in the world... no more tears. I want... I want to be with Aang and help him to fix the mistakes of my ancestors... I want to hug him, be by his side every time and tell him... to be able to tell him that I love him” he stared at his reflection a bit more, tracing his scar and then his lips, he felt his spirit become lighter and less confused, he was sure of what he wanted now and if things did not happen the way he had planned from the beginning, at least Zuko knew that he could be the owner of his own destiny. With all that in mind, he left the bedroom, felt another yawn come out of him as soon as he entered in the kitchen and the living room of his new apartment. He rubbed his eyes trying to shake the sleep out of them, the aroma of a pasty white soup called Jook that Iroh was preparing in a pot hit his senses with more strenght than before and he walked towards the old man who was serving part of the content in a wooden bowl “what is that scent?” he asked approaching to look over his shoulder.

"It's a rice plate called Jook" Iroh warned his nephew "you probably don't like it."

Zuko leaned in and inhaled deeply, letting the warm scent wash over him for a moment. He reached out to the pantry, taking one of the wooden bowls that were scattered there.

"Actually, that smells delicious" he said as brightly and sincerely as he could, hoping his uncle did not think he was cheating on him, because to be honest, he was not lying. He approached his bowl, smiling softly at the man he admired “I'd love a bowl, uncle”

His uncle looked at him a bit skeptical for a moment, but did not question what his nephew said, he reached for his ladle and scooped up some of the Jook for Zuko, pouring it into the empty bowl he held in his hand.

“Now that your fever has disappeared, you seem like someone different” his uncle commented, which caused Zuko to try to explain why this feeling of relief and the new purpose that he now had in mind, soon his future would be in his hands, he would make his own actions, his own decisions and he would not force them over himself, by anyone else or by his own delusions, he turned around with his bowl in hand and knelt on the floor by the dining room table.

"Today is a new day" Zuko said in a softer more relaxed tone of voice as if he was somehow more... carefree "we have a new apartment, new furniture and today is the grand opening of your tea shop. Things are looking up, uncle”

Zuko shifted his gaze to the rooftops of the upper area, listening to the laughter of the children running through the streets, intermingling with the conversations of the merchants and the singing birds. He took a sip from his bowl watching out of the corner of his eye as his uncle smiled at him with pride, Zuko felt like he was on the ninth cloud, he knew he had made the right decision by staying by that man's side instead of chasing something that no matter how much he got it, his father would never approve or accept him. Instead, Iroh, always accepting and appreciating him for what he was without ever asking for something in return, Iroh turned to pour his bowl of Jook, turned off the fire in the pot as soon as he left the kitchen and sat across from Zuko at the table. They sat facing each other in a quiet and pleasant atmosphere, the only thing that could be heard was them taking a sip from their bowls and standing up to fill them, after a while, Zuko looked away towards his uncle, he opened the mouth in a futile attempt to want to start a conversation but he did not know what to say so he closed it again, he looked behind him, then the window and finally his uncle, he realized that the man was staring at him, judging by the gleam in his golden eyes.

"Is there something that is bothering you, Prince Zuko?" His uncle asked, putting aside his bowl, his hands slipping under the sleeves of his robe as he looked at him "are you thinking of someone special? like... a girl, maybe?”

He sighed placing his own bowl on the table, turning it a little while he tried to find a way to tell him what he needed to say, if only that old man could understand his suffering for not being able to confess his love to the Avatar, he fiddled with the sash around his waist with one hand as he took a deep breath and finally decided to put the cards on the table.

"Uncle… I… I am in love with someone…" He was interrupted by a knock on the apartment door, which caused his uncle to stand up immediately to go see who was outside. He lowered his head, hitting it gently against the edge of the table, now he would never have the courage to confess to his uncle how he felt for Aang and to receive some advice from him on what he should do, he looked down his length. hair to see his uncle greeting his benefactor, who was boasting loudly of his future success in the tea business. Zuko hit his head a bit more against the table before getting up and leaving the room, he decided it would be best to go there wearing his uniform from the store, after all he had already lost his chance.

They both left the apartment minutes later, got into the carriage that their benefactor brought them. Zuko looked away towards the window, feeling a bit nostalgic to speak, but he finally reacted, today was not about him, today was an important day and it was only about his uncle, besides, there would be time to explain everything to that man whom he admired and loved like a father.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about, Lee?" his uncle asked with a hand on his shoulder, using his pseudonym so that his driver would not be suspicious. Zuko turned his gaze to his uncle, smiled at him and shook his head slightly.

"It's nothing important, I'll tell you another day" he said, taking his uncle's hand for a moment before looking back at the window, he would tell Iroh everything when he was ready.

* * *

Aang and Sokka landed at the shore of Chameleon Bay, the supposedly location where Sokka's father, Hakoda, and the other Southern Water Tribe warriors were. Sokka became very nervous and even felt his stomach turn; however, Aang managed to calm him down, he asked him if he did not feel that way because of his meeting with guru Pathik to learn how to master the Avatar state, Aang smiled at him, unlike Sokka, he did not feel nervous in the least, after leaving to his friend at Chameleon Bay, the airbender left yelling at Sokka that they would see in a week.

After Aang left, Sokka entered the base and was greeted with warm hugs and greetings by the Southern Water Tribe warriors. After a brief exchange of greetings, the warriors escorted him to a huge tent, Sokka entered inside the tent and there were a few more warriors there, including Bato and his father, who were studying a map. Hakoda looked up and got up off the ground to hug his son happily.

Meanwhile, the Council of the Five was reviewing the invasion plan with Katara, who was accompanied by Momo.

“General Fong's base will serve as the starting point for the attack” General How said making a demonstration by moving several stone pieces representing the Earth Kingdom forces across a world map with earthbending “in exactly two months, the army and navy will invade the Fire Nation during the day of the black sun”

Momo suddenly dove across the board and tipped over the pillars. Katara laughed at the lemur's actions.

“Or we could send Momo to create some disaster” the waterbender said in an attempt to deal with the five generals, who were not amused by her joke in the least “because… well… I'm… sorry”

"All we need is the Earth King’s seal to execute our plan" General How ordered Katara as he handed her a scroll.

"I will send him these scrolls immediately" Katara replied "thank you, General How"

* * *

On the other hand, Aang was heading with Appa to the Eastern Air Temple, for some reason in particular his thoughts were again lost on Zuko, wondering how he would be at that moment and what he would be doing, he had not seen the banished prince since the last time he They were fighting against Azula in the abandoned village, he remembered leaving him behind, wrapped in a wave of fire and fury, for a moment, he had seriously hesitated to return and help him, he really wanted to help him. Now that he thought about it, his thoughts had not been focused very often on Zuko due to the news of the eclipse, the invasion plans and Appa's disappearance, at that painful thought, he hid his face tightly against the shoulder of the flying bison. for a moment.

"I love you, buddy" he whispered to the harsh wind that whipped around him. He received a growl in response to his words, so long living with the animal made him understand that the feeling was mutual, he wondered if he told Zuko that he loved him, would he accept his feelings. They had not been able to speak, not with serious conversation since that time he rescued him from Zhao's fortress disguised as the Blue Spirit, the North Pole did not count, because there were more important things to worry about like having to protect the spirits of the Moon and the Ocean, so they had not had a chance to speak since then and had not had a chance to ask Zuko what was the important thing he wanted told him while they were in the ice cave, probably if he came back to see him and ask him, he would have already forgotten. Aang felt a tingle run through his body just remembering that memory and tried to remember the sensations that Zuko caused in his young body... but those memories were dim and slowly faded with each passing day, no matter how hard he tried, he was not able to recall those forbidden feelings between him and the Fire Nation prince. He brushed his fingers against his lips as he always did every time he thought of Zuko, this time the memory was stronger, because he managed to steal not only a kiss but a few while they were at the North Pole before separating again for who knows how much time, he remembered the warm feel of Zuko's lips and guessed it was because he came from a place where most people were firebenders, the soft way they pressed against his, the sparks of pleasure that ran through his body, those sensations that only he could provoke, that only could feel it with him, he nibbled and licked his lips. He groaned softly, snuggling into Appa as soon as the memories invaded his mind and he bit his lower lip, wishing it was Zuko's one, he had never experienced anything like this before, that fervent passion for someone who was also of the same sex, not even for Katara felt this sensation, the waterbender would always be a very important person for him but the feelings that he developed for her were further from the small crush he once felt, she could not awaken that bewilderment as the banished prince did. He opened his eyes, he did not realize when he had closed them, he saw in the distance the Eastern Air Temple towers, he snorted wishing he had more time to think, but he supposed it was for the best, he was the Avatar, and the needs of the world were above his; however, for the next few minutes before arriving, he allowed herself to dream a bit, the only privilege he still had in these chaotic times. He closed his eyes and saw Zuko smiling at him, extending his arms towards him, the images of his dream began to show at fast motion, as they always did, this time he could see Zuko joining his team and helping him fight against the Fire Nation, he could see Zuko by his side during the invasion on the day of the black sun while they defeated the Fire Lord, Zuko wrapped him in his warm and strong arms and kissed him leaving him breathless in front of everyone, he could hear his friends cheering them as he feel safe in his hug, finally the world was safe, the balance had been reestablished and love triumphed. It was a beautiful dream... but he had gone through a lot after he was released from the iceberg to have hope in the end, he knew that getting everything back to the way it was before was going to be difficult, that there would be tears, pain and blood in the process. The only thing he hoped was that everyone could achieve their happy ending, the possibility that the world would return to its state of balance and harmony that had not been seen in more than a hundred years. Aang wiped away a stray tear as he and Appa cut through a cloud, shaking off the moisture as they hovered around the temple. He could see a man meditating in the distance and directs Appa in that direction, Guru Pathik was meditating on the same tower where he sat before Appa's departure “uh, hello? are you Guru Pathik, right? the person who left the note on Appa's horn”

"Indeed" the old man replied without leaving meditation position "I was a spiritual brother of your people, and a close friend of monk Gyatso."

"In your note, you said that you could teach me how to dominate the Avatar state" Aang said as he sat in front of Pathik "how?"

"You must gain balance within yourself before you can balance the world" Guru Pathik replied "and the first step to achieve balance begins with this” he gave Aang a wooden bowl “drink it”

The young Avatar did so before spitting it out, commenting that it was a strange combination of onion and banana juice. After that uncomfortable scene, guru Pathik began to explain to the Avatar the instruction of the chakras, to master the Avatar state, Pathik told him that he must first open the seven chakras of his body, realizing that Aang did not have a minimum knowledge about the nature of the chakras, Pathik gave him a visual demonstration. Using a pond clogged with seaweeds, he successfully explained the concept of chakras to Aang, stating that by removing the obstructions between the ponds, water could flow just like energy flows through the body when the seven chakras are open, the guru further explained that there are seven chakras within the body each with a different purpose, an intense sensation that culminates in the opening of all of them. Pathik warns him that the process of opening the chakras cannot be stopped once it has begun, it must be completed to be successful. Aang accepts this challenge and they begin the process, traveling through different points of the Eastern Air Temple learning about the first six chakras: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Sound and Light.

Meanwhile, Mai and Ty Lee, dressed up in Kyoshi Warrior uniforms sat on the Earth King's palace stairs, neither of them noticed a couple of Dai Li agents spying on them hidden behind the columns, something told them that these girls were not what they seemed to be and they had to find out what they were up to.

"I'm sick of wearing this lady costume" Mai complained while Ty Lee kept busy doing exercises and stretching her limbs "I don't know how anyone can fight with this"

“Maybe that's why it was so easy to defeat the Kyoshi Warriors and steal their uniforms” Ty Lee told Mai, one of the Dai Li agents who was behind the column narrowed his eyes with a serious expression upon hearing that those Kyoshi Warriors were nothing more than impostors.

“How much longer are we going to have to be serving the Earth King?” the gloomy girl asked to her friend “if I have to pick up another pile of bear poop, I swear I'm going to puke”

"Princess Azula promised us that we would return to the Fire Nation once we capture the Avatar" Ty Lee told to her friend "we just have to be patient."

“Shut up!” the dark haired girl said “do you want the whole palace to know that we are from the Fire Nation?”

"I'm sorry" the cheerful girl next to her apologized, the Dai Li agents who had been spying stealthily from the columns, clung to them quickly and stealthily, once they left, Azula made her appearance.

“Good work, girls” the disguised princess congratulated them “I'm sure the Dai Li will deliver the message”

Aang and Pathik advanced to the Fire chakra, located in the stomach, dealing with willpower and blocked with shame. Before unlocking the Fire chakra, the guru proceeded with unlocking the third chakra by asking the Avatar what he is so embarrassed about and why he was disappointed in himself. Aang has a vision of when he tried to firebend for the first time and ended up wounding Katara, telling Pathik that after that incident, he would never firebend again, Pathik replied that to gain balance he must accept all aspects of his life, Aang was the Avatar and in his past life he had been a firebender. He accepts his duty, the destiny that was imposed on him from the beginning and with that he manages to open the third chakra, the next chakra is the Air chakra, located in the heart, it deals with love but is blocked with pain, putting his pain as his main priority, Aang visualizes all the Air nomads that were killed by the Fire Nation during the Hundred Years War, with Gyatso in front of all of them, they vanished one by one turning into smoke. According to Pathik, love is a form of energy that revolves around people, he also affirm that the love that Aang felt for the Air nomads would always be there with him but that it could reincarnate in a new type of love, at first, Aang tried to think of Katara but then he remembered that it was not her that he had these feelings for, the waterbender image distorted to give way to Zuko.

The next chakra is that of Sound, located in the throat, it deals with the truth but is blocked with lies. Aang recalled the moment when he hid his true identity from Katara and Sokka, stating that at first, he did not want them to know that he was the Avatar because he never wanted to be. Pathik explains that he cannot deny his own nature and that he must accept his destiny as the Avatar, with a vision in mind and with a sigh, Aang accepted this idea, opening succesfully the Sound chakra, being congratulated by Pathik who began to explain the technique to unblock the Light chakra, which is located in the forehead, deals with vision but is blocked with illusion, furthermore, admits that the greatest illusion in the world is separation, things that are believed to be separated by being different from each other. Aang instantly related this concept to the four nations and Pathik told him that each individual was part of the whole collective, but that they live as if they were divided. Aang realized that Pathik was right in saying that they were all connected, so the divisions were meaningless. Pathik went on to explain that even the separation of the four elements was an illusion, as all four are parts of the same whole, adding that even the metal was simply refined and purified earth.

With the final chakra opening, Aang would be able to enter and exit the Avatar state easily, as well as control his actions within it. The last chakra is the Thought chakra, located at the top of the head, it deals with cosmic energy but is blocked by earthly possessions, he asked Aang to meditate on what he was holding so tightly, and as he did so, images of Zuko came back to his mind, including the dream he had while traveling to the temple, all these images invaded his mind and seeing that Aang finally managed to focus on what was holding him down, Pathik ordered him to let these emotions go all of a sudden. Aang is angered when he realizes that he must put his feelings for the Fire Nation prince aside when he had just recently discovered that he loved him without restraint. He wonders why he could not allow himself to feel this kind of love, when the same guru told him that this was a good thing for him, Pathik narrowed his eyes but keep cool and continued, stating that if Aang wanted pure cosmic energy enter on him, he had to leave his earthly possessions, including the one he loved so unconditionally.

Katara ran into the Earth Kingdom palace breathing heavily and once she entered inside the Earth King's throne room she found Azula, May and Ty Lee disguised as Kyoshi Warriors kneeling on the ground. Of course, the waterbender did not recognize them and believed they were Suki and her partners.

“Thank Agni you're here, Suki” Katara said to the disguised princess “something terrible is happening, the Fire Nation has infiltrated the city. I just saw Prince Zuko and his uncle, we have to tell the Earth King right away”

“Oh, don't worry” Azula replied as she got up from the ground “I'll be sure to tell him”

That was when Katara realized her mistake, she recognized the distinctive golden hue in Azula's eyes. However, her discovery came too late; Ty Lee throwed herself into the air and blocked her chi. Azula and her friends stood around Katara's motionless body, commenting that it was time for her and Zuko to meet again.

Back at the Eastern Air Temple, it was late at night and the discussion continued, Aang remained firm in his opinion of not leaving behind his feelings for Zuko, but Guru Pathik told him that he must learn to master all the chakras in order to dominate the Avatar state. Aang agreed to give it a try and had a vision of Zuko being captured by the Dai Li agents with his sister laughing at him as they took him away, then an image of Katara disappearing into space appeared and he was carried above the planet to walk along. From a stream of cosmic energy, the stream radiated from a gigantic image of himself in the Avatar State, which surrounded him in a sphere of energy radiating from his palms. Aang was surprised; however, upon seeing an image of Katara, captured underground, he left the Avatar state-induced figure and began running towards the image, causing the stream of cosmic energy to dissipate and Aang plummeting to Earth.

“Katara is in danger!” Aang said after seeing that his friend was in trouble, however, the image of Zuko being captured was what he feared the most “I have to leave”

“No, Aang” Pathik said trying to stop the boy who was about to leave the temple “by choosing to cling to your earthly possessions, you blocked the chakra, if you leave now, you will never be able to enter the Avatar state!”

Aang knew he was going to regret this later, but now he had to go back to Ba Sing Se, help his friend and stop Azula from capturing Zuko, he ignored the man's warnings and left behind his chance to dominate the Avatar state.

At Ba Sing Se Prison, a group of Dai Li agents escorted a restrained and complaining Azula to Long Feng's cell. Upon arrival, she demanded why they took her to a prison in the middle of the night.

"You're not a Kyoshi warrior, are you?" Long Feng asked, who smiled as soon as he recognized her "Azula, princess of the Fire Nation?"

"What do you want?" Azula asked him.

“I want to propose you a deal. It's time for me to regain control of Ba Sing Se” Long Feng replied “and you have something I need”

“Huh?”

“The Earth King’s trust.”

"For what reason should I help you?" the disguised princess asked to the man with a harsh but sour tone of voice.

“Because I can help you defeat the Avatar.”

In the Jasmine Dragon, Iroh and Zuko were finishing their tasks of cleaning the tea shop when a messenger appeared carrying a scroll in hand.

"A message from the royal palace" the messenger said giving the scroll to Iroh, the old man took the scroll, opened it and read what was written inside it.

“I… I can't believe it" Iroh said a bit astonished.

"What's up uncle?" Zuko asked as he approached to him.

“Good news, we've been invited to serve tea to the Earth King.”

Wasting no time, Iroh rushed to prepare everything to go to the royal palace while Zuko looked at him extremely pleased and happy for his good luck and continued working in the shop. They had no idea what kind of trouble they would gotten themselves into by accepting that invitation.

Aang felt guilt eat at him as he looked at Sokka and Toph who were sitting next to him in Appa, he had lied to them telling them that he had mastered the Avatar state... however, he could not reveal the real reason why he was returning to Ba Sing Without having mastered the Avatar state, even when he had managed to unlock the fourth chakra... the one who dealt with love and blocked himself with pain, he could see how his people, the air nomads, vanished into the mist, but when the guru Pathik told him that he could reincarnate into a new type of love, he was right, that love had taken the form of something new, first he had seen Katara but then that image changed to be replaced with Zuko. Zuko had been the predominant one and he could feel his heart pounding knowing that it was he who had been giving him strength and helping him master the Avatar state, but then when they had to work on unlocking the last chakra, Pathik told him he told Aang that he should get rid of all his earthly possessions, that included his connection and the love he felt for Zuko because he needed to free himself to finally dominate the Avatar state the way he wanted him to. He almost refused to do so, he could not let Zuko go, they had formed a connection at the North Pole, at least for a short time, also, he kept alive the hopes that after all this, they could reconnect and finally be together, not only as friends, but also as something else, unfortunately, the guru destroyed all those expectations by saying that he had to leave Zuko behind if he wanted to quickly master the Avatar state.

Aang knew that his past lives, like Avatar Roku, had mastered the Avatar state, but after so many years of discipline and meditation… he was sure that they had not had to give up their earthly possessions to achieve it. Just because Aang was taking the quick and easy way to master the Avatar state, which culminated in having to sacrifice what he loved the most… he could not deny that all of this involved the good of balance. Finally, he gave up, solemnly nodded to Guru Pathik and decided to give up the person he loved the most if it meant saving the world, but after having a vision of Zuko in trouble followed by a hazy vision of Katara in danger, he had than flee with the guilt of having chosen the easy way out and not give up his love because he had to go to save him.

So, now he was sitting on the head of his flying bison next to Sokka and Toph, lying to them that he had mastered the Avatar state and that he had thought that Katara might be in serious danger, of course, not to mention the fact that he had first seen Zuko in grave danger, because he could not tell them (especially Sokka, who hated the prince) of the secret love affair he had with Zuko so he lied through his teeth hoping his friends were not suspicious and rushed Appa to fly faster towards the Earth King's palace, he pulled his reins quickly in the hope that they would get there before something bad happened, he turned his gaze at Sokka and Toph wishing he could let it all escape but he decided not to.

* * *

Meanwhile, deep underground, Azula, who has been in control of the Dai Li agents by Long Feng for the planned coup, works quickly to establish her leadership position and make them fear and obey her.

“The Earth King and the Council of the Five do not trust the Dai Li” Azula told them, she had changed her Kyoshi Warrior disguise for a Dai Li agent uniform, her friends, Mai and Ty Lee were still disguised as Kyoshi Warriors “they imprisoned their leader, Long Feng, they will soon turn against all of you and eliminate you, taking power today is a matter of life and death” she started downstairs while looking at the agents “this hit must be swift and decisive, the Earth King and each of the five generals must be overthrown simultaneously. Long Feng has put you under my command while we overthrow the government” she turned on her steps and walked turning to the right while her gaze was still fixed on the Dai Li agents standing in front of her” if I feel any disloyalty, any doubt, any weakness, I'll turn it off. That's it”

With those last words, the Dai Li agents turned in their footsteps and left their headquarters.

"Good speech, Azula" Ty Lee congratulated her as she served a cup of tea "it was pretty, poetic but also scary in a good sense."

"Yeah, for a second I thought you would make them pee their pants" Mai commented as she smiled with amusement.

"There are still some loose ends, the Avatar... my brother and my uncle" Azula said while rolling her eyes.

* * *

Iroh and Zuko arrived at the Earth King's palace because of the esteemed invitation they received to come and serve him tea. While they waited for the king, the two of them began to look somewhat apprehensive.

"Why is it taking so long?" Zuko asked his uncle as he prepared the tea and served it in the cups arranged on the table.

"Perhaps the Earth King fell asleep?" Iroh replied. Suddenly, a group of Dai Li agents surrounded Iroh and Zuko, they soon realized that it had all been a ruse armed by Azula.

"It's tea time" the Fire Nation princess said as soon as she appeared in the room.

“Azula...” Zuko said adopting a defensive position, apparently, things were going according to what he had been planning for a few days.

“Do you know the Dai Li? They’re earthbenders but they have a murder instinct so similar to that of the firebenders” Azula told them, introducing her new escort with a sinister look “that fascinates me”

Instead of reacting like Zuko did, Iroh decided to take a different perspective.

"Well, have I ever told you how I got the nickname ‘the Dragon of the West’?" He calmly asked Azula as he drank his cup of tea and got up from his seat right next to Zuko.

"I'm not interested in a long anecdote, uncle" Azula replied, waving her hand in a sign of disinterest and boredom.

"It's actually more of a demonstration" the old man told her, sipping his cup of tea and instantly began to release his fire breath attacking the Dai Li agents that surrounded him and Zuko. Taking advantage of the distraction, both of them started to escape, dodging ground projectiles thrown by the Dai Li agents, Iroh destroyed a wall with the help of lightning and jumped from the palace landing on the ground and urged Zuko to escape with him; however, Zuko decided to stop running and turned around to face Azula. Iroh was clearly displeased with his decision, but he quickly got up and fled the scene, the exiled prince challenged his sister to an Agni Kai which he rejected without hesitation, he tried to attack her but then the Dai Li agents arrived and soon they captured him and arrest him.

Meanwhile, Aang, Toph, and Sokka arrived at the palace, they got off Appa, ran towards the throne room and confronted the Earth King.

“Katara is fine” the Earth King, Kuei, replied trying to calm them down “you have nothing to worry about”

"But I had a vision, I was sure she was in trouble" Aang told him.

“Well, she met with the council of generals to plan the invasion” Kuei said “and after that she has left with your friends, the Kyoshi Warriors”

“Do you see, Aang? she's probably with Suki” Sokka said trying to be positive about the situation, but also trying to cheer him up “they sure are back in the apartment right now, talking about makeup or something”

"Ok, maybe you're right" Aang said but something inside him told him that Zuko and Katara were in grave danger and that Kuei and Sokka were telling him was not true.

"Believe me, if there was any danger, Bosco's animal instincts would feel it" the Earth King said suddenly his pet bear woke up and rumbled as he blinked. However, none of them were aware that the Kyoshi Warriors were actually Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee in disguise. As soon as the Avatar team go back to their apartment they found it empty, that's when they realized that Katara was in danger, while the group searched the empty apartment, Toph felt someone knock on the door, identifying the person behind as a old friend of her, Iroh, and invited him to get in for Aang and Sokka's surprise.

"I need your help" Iroh told them with a concerned look on his face.

_“Well, this day is getting stranger and stranger”_ Aang thought, first the Earth King tells them that Katara was fine, sadly leaving Aang without a way to know if Zuko was alright too and he could not even ask why the situation was not suspicious for his friends, so he held his tongue and they went back to the apartment in the upper ring trying to find Katara but she was not there, until General Iroh appeared asking for their help. Apparently Iroh and Toph had an encounter earlier and Aang had no choice but to trust his earthbending master, if she said that Iroh was fine then Aang had to deduce that it could be true. Furthermore, Iroh was Zuko's uncle and the airbender was unable to believe that the man was a bad person, despite the fact that he had remained by the side of the banished prince despite everything.

"Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se" Iroh told them as he entered on the apartment.

"She's the one who must have Katara" Aang said.

"He has also captured my nephew" the old man told them, Aang began to worry at the thought of the type of torture that the fearsome princess was applying on the waterbender but he also feared for Zuko's safety.

"Then we will work together to fight Azula and save Katara and Zuko" the young airbender suggested as he clenched his fist showing his anger towards the princess of the Fire Nation.

“Whoa, wait, time out” Sokka said interrupting his friend “you lost me when you mentioned Zuko”

“I know how you feel for my nephew... but you must believe me when I tell you that there is goodness inside him” Iroh said with comforting words, once again, Aang had to admit that the old man was right, if Zuko did not have goodness inside him, he would never have rescued him from Zhao's fortress or helped them save the fortuneteller's village from the impending destruction of a volcano.

"Just seeing the ‘goodness’ inside him is not enough!" Sokka exclaimed, not very convinced by the old man's words "why don't you come back when he's not waiting for you out there, okay?”

“Sokka, Zu... Katara is in danger” Aang said stopping the Southern Water Tribe boy “all Ba Sing Se is in danger, working together is our only chance”

Sokka changed his mind, Iroh and the Avatar team headed outside.

“I brought someone who might be able to help us” Iroh said once they were outside, they held a Dai Li agent captured by Iroh in a wedge of rocks and after an interrogation by Sokka, the Avatar team know that Katara was being held in an underground cave known as the crystal catacombs.

Zuko fought against the Dai Li agents grip on him, wanting to escape but also wanting to smash his head against a wall for his stupidity. He had been so groggy after his fever, thinking he could face his father and the world and come out unscathed. Then he realized what he had done... he had faced his sister, who now had all of Ba Sing Se eating from the palm of her hand and had been completely humiliated, when what he really wanted to do was try to win her trust and then betray her without her noticing. He seriously needed to think better about when it was time to act and when it was time to give up or run away.

They stopped before a rock wall, part of it rounded and he wondered with a little fear what they had in store for him, they put his arms behind his back and one officer held him while the other moved the rounded rock clearing the way, revealing a tunnel that disappeared into darkness.

"Don't worry, you'll have some company down there" one of the agents told him sarcastically.

Zuko did not have time to process what the agent meant because he was thrown into the tunnel, tumbling and spinning against the unforgiving rock, landing on the ground with a thud. He groaned, moving his body so he could kneel, he heard the rock that served as the door to his new cell close. He looked up at Katara, who was standing in the same dark cave lit by crystals, she adopted a defensive position, her expression was furious as she looked at him... well, this was going to be an interesting meeting, he just hoped she did not had water in her canteen, because he feared for his life from the look that was reflected in her eyes, Zuko managed to turn around without her chasing him, he sat on the ground trying to think of a way out while she yelled at him and she was chasing him, he wanted to explain her that he was no longer trying to capture Aang, at least not to take him to the Fire Nation in chains, but instead, he was silent, he did not want to fight against her; he no longer had the strength to do it so. Also, if he wanted to be with Aang at some point in the near future, he had to try to make amends with the little monk's friends, there was no place like present, was it? and at that moment, she said something that surprised Zuko but also gave him an opportunity to perhaps start a conversation with the girl who at one time had all the devotion of the Avatar, which could begin to ease some of the animosity between them, he told her that he did not know how painful it was for her to see the Fire Nation kill her mother. Despite this, Zuko still did not like Katara, because she was partly her rival in love, she was too calculating, she judged people too quickly and she could not forget the past.

However, for a while, Zuko had to admit that he was not able to forget the past either, but now he could, for Aang's sake, he would even try to make amends with her, although it was not in his initial plan, but if he and the Avatar ever got into a serious relationship, the least he could do was try to get along with her and the young airbender's other friends and Zuko just had to learn to deal with it, so he turned to look at her, he saw the waterbender kneeling on the ground crying over her mother’s loss.

“I'm sorry” he whispered waiting for her to take this as a kind of truce “that's something we maybe have in common” Katara stopped crying and turned to look at him, looked away from her sad blue eyes to her hands “my mother, she has always been protecting me from my father... and she had to sacrifice herself to do it so... I miss her... too much”

He stood up and looked around the cave unable to meet the waterbender in the eye after her sudden confession. Katara shuffled, looking at him with her lost eyes and realized that maybe they were both good guys, just that they had made bad decisions but were now on the right track.

"I'm so sorry I yelled at you earlier" Katara apologized.

"It doesn't matter" Zuko replied, he did not care about that at the time.

"It's just that for so long, every time I imagine the enemy's face is yours" the waterbender said.

"My face, I see" Zuko muttered as he brought a hand to his scar.

“No. That's not what I meant” assuming she was referring to her scar, Zuko explained that it was a mark that symbolized his exile, and his ‘destiny’ to haunt the Avatar forever “maybe you could get rid of it”

"What?" Zuko said as he turned his gaze to the waterbender.

"I have healing abilities" Katara told him.

“It's a scar, it can't be healed.”

However, he had gained Katara's trust to the point where she volunteered to rid off his scar herself using the water from the Northern Water Tribe spirit oasis, Zuko allowed her to rid off the scar, but before she could even do anything, Aang and Iroh burst through the cave wall. Excited to see her friend, Katara ran over to Aang, but before she could even hug him, the young airbender pushed her aside and approached to Zuko, the waterbender frowned slightly, thanks for checking if she were ok. Zuko looked at Aang and his heart raced as he saw a beautiful smile appear on the boy's face, a different smile from the one the girl gave him when she ran to hug him. He felt that his smile was reciprocated, he wanted so much to be able to carry the kid in his arms and kiss him until they both could not breath, Aang raised his hand in a shy greeting, Zuko take back the greeting still smiling before closing the distance between them with a hug. Katara's pupils shrank at the scene she was witnessing, Aang wrap his small arms around Zuko's waist as he buried his head in the prince's chest.

_"What's going on here?"_ Katara thought as she looked at the two of them hugging _"are they... are they hugging? but why?”_ the waterbender was still surprised by the change of scene, she approached when she realized that Aang was speaking, she leaned to try to listen.

“I missed you... I missed you so much” Aang muttered rubbing his face against Zuko's chest, she watched in amazement how the prince's arms enveloped Aang, holding him so tenderly... as if he were a friend... no, as if he was a... as if he were a lover.

_"No"_ Katara thought trying to convince herself that what she was seeing was not real _“no, they can't be… they couldn't, no way! I must be dreaming, yes that's it! I'm just daydreaming I will close my eyes and when I open them everything will disappear”_

Without wasting a second, Katara closed her eyes and waited a few seconds, but when she opened her eyes, she was in shock, now they were kissing, what was going on? she had gone crazy; it was the only logical reason that she could find in that situation. Aang and Zuko pulled away and the banished prince lowered his head and whispered something in Aang's ear, low enough that the waterbender would not hear him, as much as Katara wanted to hear, whatever Zuko said he made Aang blush and a smile spread across his face; however, the moment was interrupted as soon as Iroh entered through the hole in the cave wall, Zuko broke away from his love and went to hug him too, happy to see the old man again.

"What's going on, uncle?" Zuko asked once he pull away from him and turned his gaze to the Avatar.

"We're here to rescue you" Aang replied, with a wary face, but his gray eyes gave him away and Zuko could feel his body drunk with feelings he did not know he could feel.

“Go help your other friends, we'll catch up with you later. But first, I need to talk to my nephew” Iroh said to Aang, with a warm hand resting on Zuko's shoulder. Part of Zuko wanted to get away from his hand and go after Aang, but he could not because he wanted to hear what his uncle had to say... and share some things he should have said to him long time ago.

“Uncle...”

“You are not the man you used to be, Zuko, you are stronger, wiser and freer than ever and now you have reached the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose... it's time for you to choose well” Iroh said and Zuko looked at him, took a deep breath to tell the man everything. There was no going back now... he has already chosen well, not only because he loved Aang but because his eyes had been opened and he now saw the world as it really was, obscured by the cloak of lies his nation shed. He had seen refugees and broken families and a little boy who wanted him to stay with him at home. Zuko had no choice to made... he had done it since the day he was banished of his home, but before he could say all this, before he could say these things and see his uncle's face light up with pride... the moment shattered, he gasped as soon as the crystals sprouted from the ground and surrounded his uncle in an unbreakable capsule. Zuko got into a defensive stance looking wide-eyed two Dai Li agents slip into the small cavern they were in, followed by his sister, looking as pompous and smug as ever, even in her Dai Li uniform.

"I was expecting this kind of betrayal from our uncle" she said, approaching to him "but Zuko? Prince Zuko? You are many things, but you are not a traitor, are you?”

"Release him immediately" he growled.

"It's not too late for you, Zuko" she continued as if she had not heard "you can still redeem yourself"

“The kind of redemption she offers is not for you.”

"Why don't you let him decide himself, uncle? I need you, Zuko. I have planned every moment of this day, this glorious day in our nation's history and the only way for us to win is by working together. By the end of the day you will regain your honor, you will have dad's approval, you will have everything you want.”

“Zuko... I'm begging you. Look into your heart and find what you really want.”

“You are free to choose” after that, Azula sent the Dai Li agents away from there at that moment was when Zuko knew what was happening: he was just another move on her way to success, he was just a pawn in her chess game. He looked at her walk away, entering on the tunnel where the Avatar and the waterbender went to meet their other friends, he was being badly influenced psychologically by her, he was digging deep into his heart selecting all the weak points that would make him bend more to her will, her honor, her father, but she had not taken into account a very fragile and vulnerable little point, Aang.

Zuko clenched his fists with narrowed eyes, lost in thought, even so, he didn't think he was strong enough to fight her, he didn't think he could cope and survive. He sighed, looking at his uncle, he still had a chance to give up, follow his original plan, do what she asked him and stop fighting... he had been fighting for so long... too long. It would be simple, he just hoped that Aang would forgive him for his decision but he needed to gain his sister's trust if he wanted to execute his plan perfectly.

Azula caught up with Aang and Katara running to save Toph and Sokka from their prison and without thinking threw a blast of blue fire at them. An intense battle broke out between Aang, Katara and Azula, just when Aang and Katara had her cornered, Zuko appeared, after a brief moment of tension, he put his performance into action and began to fight alongside Azula to everyone's surprise. In the middle of the battle, they split into two groups: Zuko was fighting Katara, each one using whips from their elements on opposite sides of a river.

"You lied to me!" Katara yelled letting out all her anger and frustration "I thought you had changed!"

"I've changed" Zuko answered inscrutably continuing with his performance, he needed to convince his sister that he was on her side.

On the other hand, Aang and Azula were fighting each other, Azula sent a blast of blue fire, sending Aang flying through the air, the battle continued, with Katara facing Zuko and Azula, but she could not handle them both because of her counts and ended up getting knocked out when an explosion from Azula smashed her against a crystal wall. Soon after, Aang managed not to get thrown again, he clung to the ground, creating a wave of earth that rushed toward Azula and Zuko, but was stopped by the Dai Li agents. They were soon joined by dozens of Dai Li agents and Katara assumed the octopus pose: it was nothing more than tentacle-shaped waterbending. Seeing that there was little chance of winning this battle due to the uneven number of opponents, Aang realizes that he has no alternative and does the first thing that comes to mind, he created a small capsule with the crystals using his earthbending, he meditated and tried to break free of his earthly attachment to Zuko, but before he could leave his love for the prince of the Fire Nation behind and finally enter on the Avatar state, Azula struck him down with a lightning behind his back, killing him. At that moment, the Avatar spirit fell from the existential plane and in turn, Aang fell back to the ground, seeing this, Katara created a large wave using her waterbending and manages to push the agents Dai Li and Azula, Zuko saw Aang fall down and ran a small race trying to win Katara and catch the boy before he hit the ground, but the waterbender pushed him away with one of her attacks.

“Aang...” Zuko whispered as he saw how Katara definitely won the race and caught Aang before he touched the ground, she saw him unconscious in her arms and began to cry but at that moment was interrupted by being cornered and defenseless; however, Iroh appeared to help her.

“I'm going to stop them. Take Aang and save him” Iroh told him.

"But Iroh... you can still come with us" the waterbender offered him, thinking that maybe they could both fight against that group in front of them, they could both escape.

"LEAVE” he yelled. Katara nodded and once she escaped with Aang in her arms, Iroh surrendered to the Dai Li and looked at Zuko, quickly turning his head, embarrassed by the decision his nephew had made.

When the battle was over, Avatar team escaped with a nearly dead Aang, King Kuei and his bear away from Ba Sing Se, Azula and Zuko get out of the crystal catacombs and headed to the royal palace throne room.

“We did it, Zuko” Azula said as she smiled enjoying her victory “it took a hundred years, but the Fire Nation finally conquered Ba Sing Se” the girl stopped smiling when she saw the sad expression on her brother’s face “aw come on, Zuzu. Don't be sad, we have to celebrate our victory, I could never have done this without you”

"I betrayed the uncle" Zuko muttered feeling bad for hurting the man who had always supported him and who was by his side when he needed it most.

“No, you're wrong, he betrayed you” the Fire Nation princess replied as she continued to bad influence him psychologically, she get up from the throne and looked at her brother “Zuko, when you arrive home, your father will welcome you as a hero”

"But I don't have the Avatar" Zuko said still disappointed in himself "what if dad doesn't want to restore my honor?"

“You don't need it, Zuko. Today you have restored your own honor” Azula said as she placed a hand on her shoulder, Zuko looked at her for a few seconds and then turned his gaze. What the hell had he done? He had hurt the person who had always been with him and supported him unconditionally and now Aang, the boy he loved more than anything and no one in that world was dead, it was all because of him, all because he wanted to follow in his plan perfectly and be able to gain Azula's trust.

Meanwhile, Avatar team managed to escape with some difficulty and while they were flying in Appa, Katara used the water from the spirit oasis to heal Aang, who at first seems dead. At first nothing happened and Katara started crying and held Aang close to her, Aang's tattoos flashed momentarily, he opened his eyes and smiled weakly at her, overwhelmed and relieved that her friend was alright, Katara hugged him closer as the Earth King, Bosco, Momo and the Avatar team fly on Appa's back over the outer wall and out of the city, the Earth King looked back.

"The Earth Kingdom... has fallen" he proclaims sadly.


	10. Chapter IX: The awakening

It had been three weeks since the fall of Ba Sing Se and since he was separated from Aang, again, Zuko was inside his bedroom on his sister's ship looking at the moon through the window, touching the bands around his arms and legs, each one blocking his firebending but not preventing him from moving, apparently it was a new device Azula designed, obviously taking points out of Ty Lee's fighting method which consisted of blocking the chi of a bender or a non-bender, his eyes instead of showing happiness to went back to the Fire Nation, to his home with his sister and her friends, showed disappointment and sadness, because of him he had hurt the two people that he cared the most: his uncle and Aang.

After being put in a cell on the ship, Zuko had not seen his uncle in days since they left Ba Sing Se behind, and that is what hurt him the most because even if he went to his ship's cell to see him, the man probably would not want to talk to him, not after the betrayal he had committed, if only he could explain to Iroh why he had done what he had done while they were in the crystal catacombs, why he had to pretend he had chosen to join Azula instead of the Avatar team. Now that he thought of them, they would probably traveling elsewhere, far away from where he and his sister were, waiting for the right moment to meet them and fight again, from what he understood, he had been listening to Azula talking about an invasion that the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom were planning to defeat the Fire Nation during the day of the black sun, but for that it had to be a few weeks before they could carry out the attack.

He came out of his thoughts when he heard the metal door of his bedroom open, he could see Mai approaching to him with a blanket in her hands, Zuko looked at her for a few seconds before turning his back on the gloomy girl that he once considered his closest friend.

"Leave me alone, I don't want to see anyone" Zuko said without even looking at her, but Mai was not going to leave just because her friend (and childhood sweetheart) told her, she unfolded the blanket and placed it around his shoulders.

"I'm not going to leave; I just came to see if you were cold" Mai replied as she stood near him.

“I'm sorry I yelled at you but I have many things on my mind” Zuko said “I can't believe this is happening, it has been more than three years since I left home, I wonder what things have changed, if I have changed”

“I only asked you if you were cold, I didn't ask you to tell me the dramatic story of your life” Mai said as she tried to suppress a yawn, but it did not work, Zuko could hear her, which led him to think she was bored “by the way, don't worry about that” she smiled slightly “you can finally go home, your dad will be happy to see you”

"I don't think so, he's never happy to see me" Zuko said, Mai's smile faded instantly at the pessimistic point of view from her friend, she took Zuko's cheek and turned his face making him look straight at her.

“Don't say that, he will be happy to see you again, you will regain everything you always wanted” the gloomy girl said and tried to get closer to kiss him but Zuko just turned his gaze from hers “now what’s going on?”

“Sorry, Mai. But I can't do this to you” Zuko answered “not knowing that I don't feel the same for you, I… I'm in love with someone else”

“Oh, that's why you didn't want to kiss me. Okay, I'm not jealous, I understand if you like another girl, maybe we can still be friends...”

“That's the problem! she's not a girl I'm in love with, who I'm in love with is… it's a boy” Zuko answered suddenly, some images of Aang appeared in his mind, he remembered the moment when they hugged and kissed in the crystal catacombs, tears moistened his eyes just thinking about it “I have known this boy for a long time and I don't know why, but I feel like we are meant to be together and now, due to my stupidity, I will probably never see him again”

Mai was silent for a moment as she looked at the teenager sob, she had no idea what to say to Zuko to cheer him up so she tried to be positive and said the first thing that came to mind.

“Okay, maybe not everything is lost, you know? maybe this boy is out there somewhere, and when you find him, you and him will be together.”

“Are you serious? you're not joking are you?”

“I would never joke with something like that, I can't do anything to help you, all I can tell you is that you should wait and be patient, sooner or later that boy will be with you.”

With those last words, Mai withdrew her hand from Zuko's shoulder and left the bedroom leaving the prince... no, ex-prince (because Zuko did not deserve to be called that after what he had done) alone.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aang and the rest of Avatar team were traveling through the Fire Nation, using a combination of waterbending and airbending to hide Appa in the clouds. After a few minutes working on cloud formation to keep the flying bison hidden, the group reached a desert plain.

“Finally! we're here" Aang exclaimed after Appa landed on the ground, he and his friends jumped down from the flying bison.

The young Avatar walked a bit to appreciate the landscape in front of him, today was Avatar team first day in the Fire Nation Capital, they chose to temporarily take refuge in a cave, and while unpacking their things to set up a makeshift camp, he could see Katara standing at the entrance of the cave, looking towards the horizon, for a second, he wanted to approach her and ask what was happening, but Sokka was ahead of him and approached to the waterbender.

"What are you thinking Katara?" Sokka asked as he placed a hand on his sister's shoulder pulling her out of her trance, Aang hid behind a rock and listened to their conversation.

“I was just thinking about Zuko... I really hoped that he could decide to join us and not his wicked sister” Katara replied “I can't believe that he has hurt me, Aang, his uncle, all of us”

"Well, I'm still not able to believe that he's on her side now... or that he at least pretends to be" Sokka told her, Aang did not understand that last thing. What was Sokka referring to? maybe Zuko's betrayal at Ba Sing Se was nothing more than a facade so they could escape and then he would try to betray his own sister when the right time arrives? no, impossible, Aang had seen clearly that Zuko was more than determined to join his sister before him.

“I explained before, Sokka. He is still on our side, maybe what he did in Ba Sing Se was just a trick to try to gain his sister’s trust” Katara speculated “you weren't there when that happened, I was”

“Whatever you have seen and you have told me only made me conclude that Zuko is evil and that he will never change” Sokka told her, Aang lowered his gaze to stop looking at his two friends arguing about Zuko's behavior “you know? there’s a phrase that says ‘a villain will always be a villain’"

"Don't you know it's impolite to spy on people, light feet?" a voice asked behind him, Aang turned his gaze and was startled to see Toph standing behind him.

“W-what?! n-no, I wasn't spying on them, I was just... I was...” Aang tried to explain to the earthbender.

“You know you can't lie to me right? I can feel your heartbeat”

“Ok, you're right, I was spying on them” the young Avatar said feeling bad for not having the ability to hide things from his blind friend “but I didn't do it with bad intentions! I just want to hear what they're talking about”

"And do you think what Katara says is true?" She asked him as she crossed her arms around her torso.

“I'm not sure, maybe I need to go for a walk to clear my doubts. I'm a bit confused about what I heard” Aang told him.

“Okay, go if you want but come back soon, we have to look for new clothes so we can blend in with the Fire Nation citizens.

Aang thanked her and began to walk away from the makeshift campsite that his friends had set up, trying to clarify his thoughts and feelings towards a certain Fire Nation prince, he could feel his heart squeeze upon hearing what the Southern Water Tribe boy had said because a part of him knew that was not true, but now he just wanted to deny it and go along with Sokka, he wanted to forget about Zuko, forget that they could share a bond beyond being just enemies, forget that they could stop hating each other but also he wanted to forget the unconditional love that the airbender felt for him and only for him, but no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts ended up taking him to the moments lived with the prince over and over again, he remembered the last kiss they shared after separating in the crystal catacombs.

After walking for several minutes, he ended up arriving at a beach that was not far from away the camp where his friends were, once there, he sat on the white sand, then he lay on his back, he closed his eyes and sighed sadly.

"Zuko..." Aang whispered to the wind, maybe his mind was trying to make him forget his love but his heart desperately claim him, wishing he could have him by his side and kiss him as they do before he betrayed them in Ba Sing Se. He could feel his pants a little uncomfortable and tight, he did not know what was happening to him, unconsciously, Aang brought a hand to his chest, then he slid it down to his belly to finally reach the problem he had in the pants, he had no idea what he had just had his first erection and all because he was thinking about Zuko, he also had no idea how to get rid of that and the best thing he could think of to get rid of this problem, was to explore that area. He touched, squeezed, then rubbed it, it felt really good, but also a little weird when he rubbed it, so he continued, until he began to feel his pants become a pain and he took them off along with his underwear stripping off from the waist down. Aang lay back on the sand and rubbed his dick again imagining that it was Zuko who was touching him, soft gasps and moans along with the firebender's name escaped from his lips, the sensation of touching himself while thinking of Zuko made him feel so good but at the same time it was a pleasant sensation, he continued until he could feel a slight wave of heat hit his stomach “Z-Zuko... ah! gh... Zuko~” he moaned as he moved his hand even faster, that is when he reached his edge, staining his abdomen with his own cum. After reaching his orgasm, Aang remained lying there on the sand with a soft blush dying his cheeks trying to calm his breathing, after a few minutes, he calmed down and went to wash himself, none of his friends had to know what he had done, because everything had been by simple impulse and nothing else.

He walked back to the camp after finishing washing the cum on his body and dressing up, when he arrived, his friends were waiting for him. Just like Toph had told him, they were looking for new clothes so they could blend in with the Fire Nation citizens, thus eliminating the need to hide. They found an unattended clothesline and stolen some outfits, Toph had to modify her shoes by removing the soles so she could see and feel the vibrations of the earth with her feet.

“Guys, how do I look?'' Katara asked as she appeared in her new outfit, Aang blushed shyly when he saw her, he could not deny that the waterbender looked dazzling in her Fire Nation outfit, but quickly pointed out that she should take off the her mother's necklace if she wanted to stay incognit.

Then they went to a bazaar to buy some accessories and a new necklace for Katara, already in the city, the group tried to blend in with the crowd, act naturally and avoid attracting attention, a plan that is obstructed by Aang, who, after having traveled the Fire Nation a century earlier, he claims to be an expert on its customs, he calls people he sees on the street "hotman" and uses other expressions that are obviously out of date. When the others go to buy food at a meat store, Aang abstains due to his vegetarianism and walks away for a moment; however, he is caught by a group of soldiers escorting him to a classroom, apparently his stolen clothing is a uniform from a local school and the soldiers assumed that he was an absent student.

Once inside the classroom, Aang could feel all the other boys and girls looking at him in confusion, until the teacher spoke.

"Oh… are you a new mind ready to be molded?" the teacher asked him.

“Yes, it is. Let the molding begin” the disguised Avatar replied.

“Wait a minute” the woman said as she looked at him suspiciously “you are not from the Fire Nation” she approached Aang and began to walk around observing him “clearly you are from the colonies”

"Y-yes, from the colonies, of course" Aang said feeling a bit relieved that his identity has not been discovered, at least not for now “the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom”

“Your etiquette is terrible” the teacher commented “in the homeland, we bow before our elders, I will show you”

She walked away from Aang and gave a brief demonstration of the greeting she was referring to.

"I'm sorry ma'am" Aang apologized as he mimicked the greeting but after seeing one of the girls correct him, he got it right the second time.

“Also, we don't use headbands indoors.”

"Uh, I have a scar and it's kind of embarrassing" Aang replied.

“Okay, and what’s your name?” the teacher asked the Avatar in disguise “or should we call you a colony slob with no manners?”

Aang laughed a bit at the woman's question, but then composure himself and get serious again.

"Oh, slob sounds good... or just call me Kuzon."

After that presentation, at the end of the first day of classes during recess, Aang met a friendly girl named Onji, as well as Onji's supposed boyfriend, Hide, a popular student with a much more aggressive personality. After a little confrontation, Aang ends up making new friends and playing a game known as "hide and explode" with a boy named Shoji and other boys from the same school.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Fire Nation soldiers are seen marching through the streets and tundra tanks rolling towards the Earth Kingdom's royal palace. Among the citizens of the Earth Kingdom who are in Pao's teahouse, Iroh and Zuko's former employee, Pao, Jin, Ying, and Than can be seen with their baby, Hope crying in her arms, all of them frightened by what was happening. In the royal plaza of the Fire Nation palace, two old women, Lo and Li, who seems to be twins due to the fact that they both wear the same robes, the same hairstyle and have almost identical faces, appeared on the balcony of the plaza to give a public announcement.

"Finally, our heroes have returned home" both women announced.

“Your princess, Azula” Li exclaimed introducing the girl who walked to the balcony wearing her best formal clothes, people began to cheer and shout excitedly when they saw her appear from the balcony of the square.

"And after three long years, your prince has returned” Lo announced "Zuko” they both exclaimed, the Fire Nation prince appeared wearing different clothes than he wore when he was traveling on his sister's ship back home. People also clapped and shouted with enthusiasm when they saw him appear on the balcony, despite all the people present there cheering him, Zuko felt that he was out of place, that he did not deserve to be there, he did not deserve any of all that and he did not deserve it. what’s the point on to be treated like a hero? after all the person he loved the most would never be with him again.

At the end of the public announcement, Zuko was in the palace garden feeding the turtle ducks as he used to do with his mother long time ago, until Azula appeared and stood next to him, seeing her, the turtle ducks swi away from there leaving both siblings alone.

"You look so depressed" Azula commented, looking at her brother "Mai had already contacted you? because lately she's been in a really good mood, that's strange coming from her”

“I haven't seen dad yet” Zuko answered and looked away from her sister “I haven't seen him in three years, since I was banished”

“And what with that?”

“I didn't capture the Avatar.”

“Who cares? the Avatar is dead now” the Fire Nation princess replied nonchalantly but she noticed that her brother's gaze had changed so she decided to take advantage of the situation “unless you think that somehow, he miraculously survived, isn’t it? but we both know that this is impossible, no one can survive the attack of a lightning and less of one as powerful as mine was”

And there she was again, showing off how talented she was as a firebender, Zuko wanted to do something, he wanted to tell her to shut up and leave him alone with his thoughts and his guilt but, unfortunately, that was not going to happen, at least not that day. Cautiously, he recalled the water from the North Pole spirit oasis that Katara had shown him, as well as she revealed her healing properties.

“No” Zuko answered “there’s no way he survived”

They both looked at each other with a challenging gaze, Azula could also deduce that something was wrong with her brother; however, she was unable to decipher what it was that had him so downcast.

"Well, then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about" the princess said putting aside her little competition of gazes, with those last words she turned on her own steps and walk back to the palace.

Later, Zuko was called to go to the throne room to meet Fire Lord Ozai, the teenager was standing in front of the entrance that was hidden with a curtain that had the Fire Nation emblematic symbol printed on on it. He took a deep breath and entered in the room, he could see the shadow of his father kneeling on a pagoda placed on a platform in the room and fire enveloped the surroundings of the pagoda, Zuko walked slowly and once he was a few meters in front of his father, he bowed to his knees as a sign of respect.

“You have been away for a long time” Ozai said from the platform where he was sitting “I see that the weight of your travels has changed you, you have redeemed yourself, my son” he got up from the platform and walked towards Zuko, who looked up at him “welcome home”

* * *

Aang returned to the cave at dusk, covered in ashes as a result of the game, much to the relief of Katara, Sokka and Toph who had been concerned about his long absence.

“Where have you been? we were looking for you everywhere, you had us worried sick” Katara told to her friend looking at him with concern and scolding him at the same time as if it were an older sister scolding her little brother for running away from her for a couple of hours.

"I went to play with some boys after school" the young Avatar replied with a smile on his face as he took off the headband that covered the tattooed light blue arrow on his forehead.

"After what?" Sokka exclaimed, obviously overacting how surprised he was by what he had just heard.

“I enrolled in a Fire Nation school.”

"You enrolled at what?!" the Southern Water Tribe boy shouted, instantly he felt his pressure drop and he was unconscious, Katara approached to him and tried to awake him and after a few minutes, Sokka woke up. Now both he and Aang and Toph were sitting in front of the campfire that they had lit inside the cave “Aang, I'm trying to be mature and not destroy your idea so suddenly” he said trying to be reasonable with him “but that sounds... really terrible”

"Yes, we have our outfits, why do you need to go to school?" Toph asked, who did not seem convinced with her friend’s idea.

“Every minute I was in that classroom, I learned new things about the Fire Nation. I already have a poster of the Fire Lord Ozai” Aang told them, showing them a poster of the fearsome Fire Lord “and here’s one that I made with noodles”

“Impressive, I admit it. But I still think it's too dangerous” Sokka said.

“Then I suppose we can never find any information about the secret river...” Aang said turning his gaze a little disappointed “it goes straight to the Fire Lord palace. We were supposed to learn about it in class tomorrow”

“Hmm... I'm a fan of secret rivers” Sokka said thoughtfully and then made a decision “well, I'll give you a few more days”

"Flameo hotman!" Aang exclaimed enthusiastically and ran out of there under Sokka and Katara confused gazes.

* * *

Zuko go back to the Fire Nation prison, he had already been there the first night he returned home but then he regretted it and returned to the palace without even giving himself the opportunity to go inside, visit his uncle and try to talk to him. As he walked down the corridor, he was confronted by the guard that night, who had observed him from the outer ramp of the prison.

“You again?” the man asked while holding his spear “stop where you are” Zuko raised his head exposing his hooded face to the guard “prince Zuko?”

The teenager grabbed the guard by the top of his uniform, causing him to drop his spear and slammed him against the wall.

"I came to pay a visit" Zuko said aggressively "you're going to stand guard here and no one has to know about this" after saying this, he let the guard go and proceeded to let him get inside Iroh's cell. Iroh walked away from him, showing great disappointment to his nephew “uncle… it's me” the Fire Nation prince lowered the hood of his cloak revealing his face but Iroh did not look at him “you asked for this you know? we could have go back together, you could have been a hero” Iroh did not reply and just moved a little instead “you have no right to judge me, uncle. I was just following my own plan and I did what I had to do in Ba Sing Se and you are a fool for not following me” he still got no response from the old man “are you not going to say anything?” Iroh's indifference towards him caused a fit of fury on Zuko “you're crazy. You’re a crazy old man, and if you weren't in jail, maybe you'd be sleeping in a sewer!”

With those last words, he turned on his steps and left the cell leaving the old man alone, hurt and more disappointed than before.


	11. Chapter X: The headband.

The next day Aang went back to school and got in trouble for not reciting the Fire Nation oath correctly, as he had never heard it before, the other students thought his clumsiness was just part of a joke, but the The teacher punished her interruption of the class with a quiz on the history of the Fire Nation, the students grunted but started working on the quiz as Aang looked at them a bit confused.

“Question one, in what year did the Fire Lord Sozin fight against the Air Nomads army?” the teacher asked, Aang raised his hand “Kuzon?”

“Uh, is that a trick question?” the disguised Avatar asked to the woman “the Air Nomads did not have a military formation, Sozin defeated them with an ambush”

"Well, I don't know how you could know more than our national history book unless… you were there a hundred years ago" the teacher answered arching an eyebrow.

"Just, I'll write the best I could, I guess" Aang replied, then sat back down at his desk and started working on his quiz.

During music class, Aang tried to play the Tsungi horn and was scolded by the teacher for moving in a dancing-like way, something that is apparently not considered appropriate in the Fire Nation. Onji seemed to enjoy this unusual dance, although when Aang offered to teach her during recess, he accidentally provoked Hide’s rage, who tried to hit him; however, Aang deftly evaded each attempted attack with his hands behind his back, causing Hide to stumble and fall without ever touching him or using some bending he had recently been learning about. Unfortunately, this little fight gets Aang in trouble for "assaulting" a favorite student of the headmaster, which results in a parents-teacher meeting.

After class, Sokka and Katara had to attend the meeting acting like Aang's parents, they went to the principal's office and sat in front of the old man who was looking at them with a serious but reasonable gaze.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. and Mrs..." the headmaster said while he waited for both disguised siblings to answer.

“Fire, Wang Fire” Sokka introduced himself using his fake name and pointed at Katara with his hand “and she is my wife, Sapphire”

"Sapphire Fire, nice to meet you" Katara greeted him as she held a fake pregnant belly with both hands on top.

“Mr. and Mrs. Fire... your son has been registered here for two days and is already causing problems” the headmaster told them, Sokka crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow while listening to what the man had to say “he discussed with his history teacher, interrupted music class and bullied my best student”

“God” Katara said as she put a hand to her mouth as a sign of disappointment and concern “well, that doesn't sound like our Kuzon”

"That's what any mother would say ma'am. However, you are warned, if he behaves like this one more time, I will send him to the correctional... by that I mean the coal mines” the headmaster said with a warning tone in his voice “was that clear to you?”

“Don't worry Mr. Headmaster” Sokka as he placed his hands on his knees “I will straighten this boy with some discipline” he looked away to Aang “young man, as soon as we get home you will have the punishment of your life”

"That's what I wanted to hear" the principal commented, sitting back in his chair, the three of them got up and left the principal's office, left the school and returned to the cave where Toph was probably waiting for them.

* * *

That same afternoon, Azula decided it was a perfect day to hang out with her friends and obviously she took Zuko with her with the excuse that he needed to get out of his hole of depression and misery and try to have some fun. If shopping in town and scaring merchants was fun for her, Zuko was not interested, he did not want to be a part of it; however, there he was, standing outside next to one of the many shops that the Fire Nation capital had looking at from time to time at his sister who was looking at some accessories, choosing which of all she was interested in taking, Mai and Ty Lee were there helping her and by the way, Ty Lee was looking for something for her too.

Zuko thought his afternoon was going to pass like this, waiting outside a random store while his sister and her friends were busy looking for something to buy, but all of a sudden, he heard a couple of boys from the local school talking about something in low voices, curiosity invaded him and he decided to get closer to hear their conversation better, his sister did not realize that he had left for a few minutes. But that did not matter to him now, he did not have to be behind her all the time, he knew well that Azula was perfectly capable of protecting herself.

“Did you guys hear this? apparently, that boy with a headband is going to do a dance party tonight” one of the boys told to his friends.

"Yeah, that Kuzon boy said he wanted us to have fun and he also said he was going to do some kind of dance demonstration or something like that," said another of the boys in the group and then laughed sarcastically.

_“Kuzon?”_ Zuko thought upon hearing that name, he had not seen Kuzon or heard about him in a long time, not since they kissed the night of the Fire Days festival, maybe he could have the opportunity to go back to see him and tell him that he had already chosen to love the Avatar and would also thank him for helping him make that important decision in his life, even if he never managed to find out whose kiss Kuzon gave him that night was.

“Hey, don't say those things about Kuzon” one of the girls in the group said trying to defend him “maybe he has an unusual behavior and a particular way of moving but I can't deny that his gray eyes are so bright and cute”

Grey eyes? Instantly, Zuko felt all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, how had he not noticed earlier? Aang was Kuzon all this time! for that reason he felt so close to the masked boy when they spent time together at the festival, it was because he was the Avatar all this time, but... if Aang was Kuzon maybe that meant... that meant that Aang was still alive, he smiled slightly grateful with Katara for having managed to save his life with her water from the North Pole spirit oasis.

"So" said another boy, pulling the prince of the Fire Nation out of his thoughts "see you in the cave where the dance party will be held tonight?"

After agreeing to meet there, the group went their separate ways and said goodbye. Now that Zuko knew where the Avatar was, he wanted more than anything to go see him again, talk to him, apologize for what happened in Ba Sing Se and also explain to him why he had done what he had done, but he could not appear at the party like nothing had happened, he needed to talk to Aang alone, so once he got to the palace he would start working on a note and hand it over to him as a secret admirer who already knew the Avatar was alive. Once he had finished with his note, before delivering it to Aang, he would visit his uncle in prison again and wait for some advice from the old man.

"Spying on, Zu-zu?" Azula asked who was standing behind him with a wicked smile on her face.

“What do you want? you don't need me to be waiting for you outside in every place you visit” Zuko said to her sister a bit annoyed “besides where are Mai and Ty Lee? I don't see them with you”

“I got bored, I sent Mai back home because Ty Lee had a problem with her braid” Azula replied, her wicked smile turned into a mischievous one, Zuko did not want to know what she had done to Ty Lee's braid that required Mai's assistance so desperately “by the way, what were you listening to? some rumor about the Avatar is alive or something like that?”

How on earth could it be so predictable? Zuko looked at his sister trying to find some way to lie to her so that she couldn't foil his plan to meet the Avatar again and explain everything to her.

“Not. I just thought they were saying some rumor about the Avatar, but I think I heard wrong-answered Zuko.

“Good, because if I find out that the Avatar is alive, I'll make sure to eliminate it with my own hands” the Fire Nation princess told to her brother with a terrifying but at the same time threatening tone of voice “now, let's go home before it gets late”

“That's all! no more school for you, young man!” Sokka said to Aang adopting an angry voice. The three were already back in the cave where they had set up their makeshift campsite, the young Avatar looked at Katara as waiting for her to do something and defend him but she just stayed there, sitting on a rock watching her brother scold the young boy.

“I'm not ready to leave yet” Aang said a bit sad as he got up from the rock he was sitting on and walked to where Appa was “I was having fun for once in my life, I was starting to be a normal kid, you don't know how does it feel, Sokka, once you get used to it you can be normal all the time”

"Ha ha" Toph laughed, Sokka sent an almost withering look at the earthbender for making fun of him.

“Listen, guys. These guys from school are the future of the Fire Nation. If we want to change this world for the better, we must give them a little freedom”Aang told them.

"What could you do to help a bunch of depraved little monsters?" Sokka asked as he shrugged.

"I'm going to organize a secret party" the young Avatar replied, Sokka and Katara looked at him a bit surprised but the Southern Water Tribe boy reacted quickly and frowned in annoyance.

"Go to your room!" Sokka exclaimed in an irritated tone.

Later, Zuko go back to his bedroom in the royal palace and began working on a secret note for the Avatar, but any attempt he made to write an appropriate note looked wrong to him and he ended up tearing up the scrolls he used to write the note or burning them due to frustration he felt, but then he started thinking about Aang, that managed to calm him down and gave him an idea of what he wanted to write on the note. Once finished, he knotted the scroll with a red rope that had a small gold medal with the Fire Nation emblematic symbol, he took his cloak, got dressed and hid the note inside the cloak, if he was going to visit his uncle back in prison and then seeing the Avatar, he needed to stay incognit so that no one would suspect what was happening. He left his bedroom checking twice if someone was walking down the corridor, when he saw that it was clear, he began to walk through it, but halfway he stopped when he heard his sister speaking hidden in the shadows.

“Ok, you caught me, what do you want now Azula?” honestly, Zuko was already starting to get tired of being just another pawn in his younger sister's chess game, but if he wanted to continue working on the plan he had been thinking during his stay in Ba Sing Se, he had to endure all this and be patient until the invasion day arrive, only there he could betray her and finally join the Avatar team.

"Actually, nothing" the princess said as she peeked out from the darkness "believe it or not, I'm just looking after your back. If people find out that you have gone to visit our uncle, they will think that you are conspiring with him, just try to be careful, dumb-dumb”

“Think whatever you want, Azula. But I'm going to go see our uncle and you can't stop me” Zuko said as he walked away from there, Azula looked at her brother disappear down the corridor and frowned slightly, definitely something was very wrong with him. Zuko go back to visit his uncle in prison, just like the last time he visited him, Iroh just turned his back on Zuko who tried to be nicer to him, bringing some food as a gift “I know you don't mind, but I suppose this is better than prison food” he passed the tray with komodo-chicken through the cell grate “I admit, I have everything I ever wanted but not everything is how I thought it would be. The truth is...” he stopped, again he was about to make the mistake of confessing to the old man that he did not need anything of everything he had to be happy, the only thing that could give him true happiness was the Avatar “the truth is I need your advice, the Avatar is alive, I know he's out there, I'm losing my mind. Please uncle, I'm so confused I need help” again, Iroh did not answer, he just sat in his place with his back turned “forget it, I'll figure it out myself. Rott yourself here, I don't care”

As he left the cell, Iroh stood there silently, but a tear rolled down his face.

Back in the cave, the Avatar team set everything up for the secret party, Toph built some tables and a stage using her earthbending, Katara made a drinking fountain and some ice glasses with her waterbending and Sokka, well, he was lighting some candles and placing them around to light up the cave.

"I can't believe we're having a dance party" Sokka told to Aang as he placed some candles on one of the tables "it seems so... silly."

"Don't think of it as a dance, but as a cultural event that celebrates the art of footwork" Aang replied.

The children arrived at the cave earlier than the Avatar team expected, so they had to stop what they were doing and prepare to receive them, the school band began to play on the stage built by Toph; however, they were all in a daze due to nervousness and fear of getting into trouble if some school authority discovered them. To cheer the boys up, Aang taught them some dance steps he learned from the Fire Nation long time ago and finally invited Onji to join him, which encouraged the rest of the students a bit more.

"Wow, they look great as a dance team, if I must be honest" Sokka commented looking at Aang and Onji dancing together, Katara only answered by nodding slightly. After that demonstration, the students were encouraged to dance freestyle, although Toph, Katara and Sokka chose not to join in and only watched their friend have fun with the other kids.

Zuko arrived at the cave and just by listening to the music coming out of it, he knew that a party was taking place there, he smiled slightly but then he reacted quickly and started walking inside the cave, luckily no one was looking at him. Neither the Avatar nor his friends, until he approached a brown haired girl gathered in a ponytail.

"Are you friends with Kuzon?" Zuko asked the girl in front of him.

"I think so... why do you ask?" Onji replied looking at the hooded boy.

"Give this to him, it's really important for me that he read the message written inside it" Zuko replied and gave the girl the scroll.

Before Onji could ask Zuko who he was, the Fire Nation prince had already left the cave, blinked a few times, shrugged it off, and walked over to the disguised Avatar who was still having fun with her classmates.

“Kuzon?” Onji said making Aang stop to look at her “uh... a hooded boy came here a few moments ago and asked me to give you this”

She handed the scroll to the disguised Avatar, who took it without hesitating and looked at it with an expression between confusion and curiosity.

“What is it? who sent you that?” Katara asked to his friend with concern.

"I don't know, but what if it's a message from a spy sent by the Fire Lord? Maybe he knows that I'm still alive after the attack on Ba Sing Se” Aang said looking at the scroll in his hands.

“That's impossible! how could this person know that you are alive? we have done all possible to prevent people from recognizing you” Katara said, she could not believe that someone from the Fire Nation knew that Aang was alive.

“Yes, and it has been working these days, but apparently someone discovered that I am alive... maybe... maybe it’s better that I go check what this scroll says outside” Aang told to his friend “nobody has to know about this message and unless they know that I am the Avatar and that I am alive”

After saying this to the waterbender, Aang came out of the cave and opened the scroll, inside there was a note that had no signature, so he had no idea who wrote it, after checking that, the young Avatar began to read the note silently:

_“_ **_親愛的阿凡達。_ **

****

**_我不能告訴你我是誰，但我只想告訴你我知道你還活著，不要問我如何，我只是知道。你的死的念頭毀了我，你不知道我以為你死了，我再也見不到你了。從那一刻起，我為所發生的事情感到_ ** **_內_ ** **_and_ ** **_和抱歉，我做出了錯誤的決定，並為此感到差點喪命。_ **

****

**_阿凡達，您徹底改變了我的生活。但是最重要的是，您改變了我，讓我清楚地看到了事情，以一種我從未知道過的方式改變了我的世界，只想著你可愛的臉龐和那雙閃閃發光的眼睛，我就充滿了活力。_ **

**_我們見面的第一時間，我唯一想做的就是帶你上鍊，帶你去火之王，但是現在我想要的是_ ** **_……_ ** **_我不能在這裡寫，有人可以看到我。關鍵是，您沒有俘獲您，而是俘獲了我！_ **

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**_我需要見你再與你交談，有些事情我不能在本筆記上寫下。在消防國家監獄的黑暗走廊後面找到我，不用擔心！我不打算暗中攻擊你！_ **

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**_我只想再次見到你，撫摸你的柔軟的臉，將你抱在懷裡，親眼看到你還活著。_ **

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**_您的秘密仰慕者_ **

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_(Dear Avatar._

_I can't tell you who I am, but I can only tell you that I know you are alive, don't ask how, I just know it. The thought of your death destroyed me, you have no idea how depressed and sore I was at the thought that you were dead and that I could never see you again. From that moment on I felt so guilty for what happened, I made the wrong decision and for that reason you almost died._

_You have completely changed my life, Avatar. But the most important thing is that you changed me, you made me see things clearly, you moved my world in a way that I had never known, just by thinking of your pretty face and those bright eyes, I feel alive._

_The first time we met, all I wanted to do was chain you and take you to the Fire Lord, but now all I want is... I can't write it here; someone might see me. The point is that instead of capturing you, you have captured me!_

_I need to see you and talk to you again, there are some things I want to say but cannot write in this note. Meet me in the dark corridor behind the Fire Nation prison, don't worry! I don't intend to attack you in secret!_

_I just want to see you again, touch your soft face, hug you and see with my own eyes that you are still alive._

_Your secret admirer.)"_

Aang finished reading the note and a blush spread across his cheeks, he had a little idea who had written that note, but he did not want to believe that it was from the person he was thinking of at that precise moment. He looked away towards the cave, lowered his gaze to the note and made a decision, he would go see this person, even for a couple of minutes, no one would notice his short absence.

* * *

On the other hand, Zuko was alone in the corridor waiting for Aang, but the minutes passed and little by little he began to lose hope and to think that the boy would not come to the meeting point.

_“I guess he won't show up... it's a shame because I really wanted to see him again”_ Zuko thought a little disappointed _“no, don't give up now, I'm sure he'll show up sooner or later, just... just give him about five minutes more”_

However, five minutes passed and the Avatar still had not arrived, so Zuko ended up giving up. He was about to go back to the palace, when suddenly he heard a noise not far away from him. Zuko looked back and he could see a shadow approaching to the corridor, he was not sure if it was the person he was waiting for so he prepared to attack whoever was approaching to him.

“Well! I'm here” that person said a few meters from the Fire Nation prince “you said you wanted to see me, so here I am!”

“Avatar, is that you?” Zuko asked as he approached to the person hidden in the shadows “I mean is it really you?”

“Z-Zuko?!” Aang exclaimed when he recognized the voice of the person who was in that dark corridor, no, he was dreaming, it definitely could not be him, he put a hand to his eyes and rubbed them with the hope that it was all a simple mirage but as soon as he opened his eyes he realized that it was not a mirage, it was the sad reality “wait, I don't understand what were you doing to...?”

He could not finish his sentence when he felt how the teenager hugged him tightly, pressing his small body against his. Aang was left confused without understanding what was going on but slowly take back the hug, still untrusting the next move that Zuko would make next.

"I can't believe you're here" Zuko said relieved, he pulled away and looked the boy in the eyes "all this time I thought you were dead, and I felt very bad and guilty about what happened. I should never have joined Azula, I shouldn’t have followed my plan, I should have agreed to join you from the first moment she made me take my decision”

“Wait, I don't understand anything, what plan are you talking about? what do you mean?” Aang asked slightly confused, right, Zuko had forgotten that he had asked him to meet him there to explain his plan; however, he distracted himself by sliding a hand over the boy's head slowly, feeling his thick dark brown hair.

"Did you grow your hair out?" Zuko asked the boy in front of him.

"Uh…" Aang was about to reply but the teenager interrupted him.

“Don't answer me, it doesn't matter, it looks good on you” he said making the Avatar's cheeks blush at those words, they had never said something like that to him, except for that time he woke up in his bedroom on the captured Fire Nation ship after being healed by Katara and she told him that having hair on his head suited him well, although she preferred it more with shaved head, something that he was going to miss for a few days. But neither Sokka, much less Toph, had made such comments to him.

“Thanks... hey, don't change the subject!” Aang said remembering what he had said a few seconds ago “you haven't answered my questions yet, I need to know what plan you are talking about and what do you mean with that”

“Uh, right. You see, when I was in Ba Sing Se I was seriously thinking if I should join you to help you stop this senseless war or let everything continue as it was, so I made a decision, I did think to join you from the beginning but then, at finding out that Azula was in the same place as me, I had to change my plans, first I decided that I would gain her trust, I would make her believe that I was on her side and when the time finally comes, I will betray her and then join you” Zuko replied holding his hands between his, Aang did not answer, he had no words for what he was hearing, he just shook his head not being able to believe what his love was saying “I know it's hard to believe but, you have to, I need that you trust me and be patient, soon I will face my father and we can be together”

“Zuko... no...”Aang said trying to process all the information that his brain had received, he released his hands from Zuko's and began to walk while he shook his head in disbelief “sorry... I'm sorry but I can't trust you”

“What? why you can’t do that?”

"Because I just can't do it! this makes no sense! why should I trust you if I know later that you're going to hurt me again? huh? answer me that!”

"I already told you that I did all this to gain Azula's trust! I couldn't let her suspect me, that I was actually thinking of joining you and your friends and neither…” Zuko answered a little annoyed that the boy he loved didn't believe his words, he calmed down a bit and looked away “I didn't want her to suspect my feelings for you”

“Sorry, Zuko. I know this hurts but I can't trust you, not after what you did, and I don't think you joined your sister because of everything you said before” Aang said “you know what? we should forget everything that happened between us, forget our feelings and see other people... for now, it's the best for both of us”

He began to walk slowly away from Zuko, turned around and ran away from there without looking back. The Fire Nation prince grunted in pain and frustration, what the hell had made him think Aang would change his mind? it was more than clear that the young Avatar had no interest in forgiving him, perhaps he was right, forgetting everything would be for the best, he should put aside these feelings for Aang at least until the invasion day arrives, that is where he would make his move, he would betray his sister, face his father, and leave the Fire Nation to join the Avatar team.

The music continued to play which indicated that the party was still running its normal course, Aang arrived at the entrance of the cave a bit hurt by the conversation he had just had with Zuko, decided to calm down a bit and entered the cave pretending that nothing had last, she started walking looking for a dance partner and found Katara sitting next to one of the earthen tables a little discouraged, the young Avatar approached her and offered her his hand to get her to dance, perhaps that would encourage her a little and that way he would forget his feelings for a certain Fire Nation prince.

“Where were you? I haven't seen you for a while” the waterbender asked looking at her friend with slight surprise.

"That doesn't matter now, do you want to dance with me?" Aang asked the girl in front of him.

“Uh, I don't know, Aang” Katara said hesitating a bit “the shoes I'm wearing aren't good for dancing and I don't know if I could…”

"Just take my hand" the young Avatar interrupted her, Katara agreed, she took her friend's hand and led her to the center of the cave where the other students were dancing animatedly. Both performed a combination of Bagua and Shaolin synchronized, which in fact seemed to be an acrobatic dance based on their waterbending techniques, the students were in awe of the show their eyes witnessed. At the end of the dance, Katara and Aang smiled at each other and laughed softly, for some reason the waterbender felt her heartbeat inside her chest, what was that strange feeling that she was experiencing towards her friend? She had never felt it her before, she felt like she wanted to be close to Aang but more than as a friend or an older sister... then she remembered that the airbender loved someone else and that hurt her a little, so she pulled Aang away and turned her gaze a bit sad, something that worried Aang “Katara? what's going on? what's wrong?”

"It's nothing, Aang, it doesn't matter..." the waterbender replied without looking at her friend.

“It's not true, something's wrong with you, tell me what it is and maybe I can help you.”

"I'm telling you it's nothing! leave me… leave me alone!” Katara cried, who left the cave sobbing, looking at this, Sokka wanted to go talk to his sister but Aang interfered.

“Let me talk to her, I'm sure I can help her” the airbender told to his friend, he left the cave and found the waterbender sitting near the entrance sobbing softly “Katara what’s wrong with you? I don't like to see you like this and even less to know that I was the one who did this”

“I wouldn't know what to tell you, Aang. Because I don't even know what’s wrong with me” Katara answered looking at her friend with tears in her eyes “when we danced there, I felt... I felt my heart pounding, this had never happened to me before, I had never felt anything like this with no one else” she took a deep breath while wiping her tears with the back of her hand “Aang, I… I think I had a crush on you…” the airbender was perplexed by the words of his friend, he was going to tell her something but she interrupted him “you don't need to answer me now, I understand that you don't feel the same for me and I know you love someone else, I don't want to take that away from you and force you to be with me”

“You know? I don't know if you agree with this but, I think I could give you a chance, I mean, this person has hurt me before and I don't want that to happen again. Forgetting this person is the best thing I can do” Aang answered, who sat next to Katara and unconsciously took her hand intertwining his fingers with hers “at least until this person understands that they made a mistake by hurting me and maybe I can forgive they”

“Aang what the hell are you saying? are you seriously willing to give up the person you love to try to have something with me?” the waterbender asked slightly surprised, Aang did not answer and only limited himself to nod “well... I guess for a while, we could try”

“Yes, we don't lose anything by trying. By the way, I had fun dancing with you a while ago.”

"Me too, we should do that more often you know?" Katara commented making both she and Aang laugh slightly; however, the Headmaster and several soldiers appear on the scene, after Hide told them about the dance party, they try to catch Aang but he hides with Katara among the students crowd inside the cave. The soldiers could identify Aang with his headband, but they were shocked when they notice that the other students also wear the same headband. Apparently, every student in the cave had to wear one to protect the disguised Avatar, delaying the man’s search even more.

Taking advantage of this distraction, the Avatar team manages to escape through an opening through the cave; however, before leaving, Aang stops and exchanges smiles with Shoji before running out of the cave, closing the opening behind him, leaving Shoji shocked and speechless. Some of the soldiers present accepted their defeat and began to dance, much to the Headmaster's dismay.

As the team flew over Appa, Toph congratulated Aang on his effort and that he had created such an impact on the students. Katara agreed with the earthbender's comment, she again thanked Aang for dancing with her and gave him a little kiss on the cheek, making the young Avatar blush but this time it was because of her actions, not by her words or because he had to give a kiss from her to someone else.


	12. Chapter XI: The day of Black Sun [the invasion & the eclipse]

Azula, like her brother, was starting to lose her mind or maybe she was going through something much worse than that, wherever she looked, wherever she was she only could have hallucinations of the Avatar showing up to attack her and finish her off at any moment, or could also see how her brother laughed at her telling her how naive she was. The nights that followed prior to the invasion day were spent in a complete state of insomnia, every time she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, she had recurring nightmares in which she was defeated by the Avatar on the day of the black sun and that was the main cause of her insomina. She also began to suspect about her brother's strange behavior, the Fire Nation princess recalled that he had behaved in this way during the battle in the crystal catacombs when he tried to catch up the Avatar, after she attacked him with her lightning bolt, as if he was trying to save him or at least protect him, but luckily that Water Tribe peasant managed to catch the boy's body just before it fell to the ground and in front of his eyes. She could even see that he had been spending time with Mai, but they did not share the typical couple moments, they only spent time together as friends, Mai had told her one afternoon that the princess went to visit her at her house and Ty Lee was not around, what had happened between her and Zuko, she told him that Zuko decided that both of them should continue to be just friends because he confessed that he was in love with someone else, but unfortunately he had not told her who it was, after this conversation, the Fire Nation princess was more than convinced that the Avatar was alive, stalking her, looking at her in the shadows, waiting for her to lose what little sanity she still had in her mind.

Oh, but she would not do that, she would not fall without a fight, she was obviously the rightful heir to the throne, she was destined to become Fire Lord before her stupid brother because she was beautiful, powerful and feared, she was unbreakable, no recurring nightmare of the Avatar would be able to take away the little sanity that still remained in her mind. Just to be sure, the Fire Nation princess would send someone to eliminate the Avatar if he was still alive and then after that she would eliminate her brother, there would be no way that he could take the throne away from her.

Azula smiled and laughed maliciously at her plan as she walked through the Fire Nation capital low areas, she had contacted a mysterious man, a man she could trust and who had no morals or desire for power, only liked to murder people... for a certain price.

In the deep night, mist and cool wind swirled around Azula as she waited for him, he appeared with a metallic noise, he had a metal arm and leg, as well as a third eye tattooed on his forehead, her savage golden eyes opened up triumphantly, there was no doubt, that man was the one for the job she had in mind.

"I have a job for you" she whispered as she walked forward, her body swaying seductively thinking that that way she could loosen the cold and penetrating gaze on that man's face, Azula placed her hands on his muscular chest, rubbing the hard pecks and blink in a flirtatious way like her friend Ty Lee always did when she was flirting with a random cute boy “I've heard of you, you have a killer instinct and you know how to keep secrets” the man did not say a word, he just looked at the Fire Nation princess without taking his cold gaze from him “I suspect that the Avatar is alive, I want you to find out if my suspicions are true, if you find him... eliminate him and anyone traveling with him. After that I want you to kill my brother, do it on the day of the eclipse, because no one will be there to see his disappearance”

The girl brought her body closer to the mysterious man one, she could feel the power and ferocity ran through his body, that almost excited her but he was not a worthy suitor, no matter how much her blood heated. The man simply pulled from Azula, turned on her feet and quickly disappeared into the night, leaving his warmth in the palm of her hands and her fingertips, his cold gaze and his bad behavior were etched in her memory. A smile appeared on the princess's face as she walked back to the palace, now she was sure that no one would stand in her way of dominating the world, she smiled because her brother had no idea of the surprise that he was going to receive soon.

* * *

The day of the solar eclipse had come and along with it the beginning of the invasion, on the morning of the invasion, Aang woke up in a good mood and cheerfully greeted everyone. Katara was glad to see him so happy because that indicated that he had rested well, Aang confidently believes that he could face the Fire Lord during the eclipse without problems. Toph asks Aang if he is going to use the Avatar state against him, but Aang explains that his seventh chakra was blocked when Azula struck him with her lightning, therefore he cannot enter on the Avatar state. Suddenly, a fleet of ships from the Southern Water Tribe appears on the horizon hidden under a slightly dense layer of fog. Aang created some makeshift docks on the shoreline using earthbending with Toph's help. Sokka and Katara went down to the shore and ran to join their father.

"You did it, dad" Katara said as she hugged him, Hakoda took back her daughter's hug as Sokka approached to them.

"Were you able to locate everyone I told you to search for?" Sokka asked.

“I did it. But I'm a bit worried, Sokka" Hakoda replied as he looked at Tho and Due, waterbenders of the Foggy Swamp Water Tribe, who were getting off the boat “some of these men are not exactly war material”

"This place is very different from the swamp" Due commented as he got out of the boat with Tho, but he stopped and pointed to a rock emerging from the water "what do you think it is, Tho? some kind of Fire Nation booby trap eat you?”

"It's just a rock, Tho" the man beside him replied.

“Well, I'll keep that in mind.”

"Is it just me or do these guys have their leaf hats a little tight?" Hakoda asked as he looked at Bato who just walked past him.

"I only wish they could wear some pants" the Southern Water Tribe warrior replied.

"Pants are an illusion, and so is death" Huu, another member of the Foggy Swamp Water Tribe declared mystically.

Aang and Toph joined the meeting minutes later, someone else got off another boat, Haru, who sported a newly grown mustache from the last time Team Avatar saw him.

"Hey hi Katara," Haru greeted her. As soon as she saw him, Katara stopped talking to Aang, Sokka and her father and ran to hug the earthbender tightly but tenderly while smiling.

"Haru, it's so good to see you" Katara said happily, Aang felt a bit hurt, the waterbender had never smiled at him like that, this was the first time he had seen her smile so sweetly at someone she had not seen in a while, not even she show that kind of smile to her father. The young Avatar felt his heart shrink a bit, why did it hurt so much? he was not jealous and he was not in love with Katara either, at least not in the way he used to be anymore, but he promised the waterbender that they were going to make an effort and pretend there was something between them or at least try to have a relationship, he looked for Toph and brought the blind girl over to where Katara and Haru were.

“Toph, this is Haru” Aang said introducing her to the earthbender “when we met him, his village was controlled by the Fire Nation, so he had to hide his earthbending”

"Katara inspired me and my father to take back our village" Haru told them as he looked at the waterbender who looked away slightly blushing.

“You helped us find our courage, Katara” Tyro, Haru's father thanked her, placing one hand on the girl's shoulder and the other on his son's shoulder “now we are here to help you”

Toph and Aang looked at them, both with smiles seeing that they had come from so far away to help them in the invasion, until the earthbender could sense a presence near her and her eyes widened.

"No way, that's it..." Toph was about to speak, but was interrupted when she felt a pair of big and strong arms pressing her tightly against a robust body.

"Hippo’s happy to see Blind Bandit" Hippo, an Earth Kingdom fighter, said as he hugged the blind girl and lifted her into his arms.

"Are you here for a rematch?" Toph asked him and Boulder, another fighter who was part of the underground fights of the Earth Kingdom.

“Negative” Boulder replied “Boulder and Hippo will no longer fight to amuse others, now we will fight for our kingdom”

"That's sweet" Toph said while smiling, once Hippo placed her on the ground, there was a small explosion in one of the ships and everyone came to see what happened. The mechanic, his son, Teo, Pipsqueak, and The Duke emerged from the boat.

"Was that a new invention?" Sokka asked a little worried about them.

"Yes, but unfortunately, the flammable capabilities of the peanut sauce proved to be a complete failure" the mechanic replied a little disappointed that his recent invention had been a complete failure.

"Were you making peanut sauce bombs?" the Water Tribe boy asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"They are destructive" Pipsqueak replied, who carried The Duke on his shoulders.

"But also, delicious" the little boy commented as they laughed and brushed the sauce off their faces, Momo jumped towards the little boy and began licking the caramel brown substance from his face.

"Were you able to complete the work on the plans I sent you?" the Southern Water Tribe warrior asked him.

"Yes, I did" the mechanic replied "and I think the Fire Nation will be in for a big surprise."

“Aang, my dad and I made this for you” Teo told to the young Avatar, presenting him his gift, it consisted of a staff with a different style than he was used to, Aang opened it and that staff turned out to be a new glider that also contained a secret compartment for snacks.

Meanwhile, in the Fire Nation Prison, Warden Poon was standing next to Iroh's cell filing his nails with his back leaning against the stone wall as he sent a contemptuous look at the old man who keep silent and seated on the floor giving his back to him.

“Probably you're tired of being in that cell, old man” Poon commented as he continued to mock the imprisoned Iroh “well, bad luck. You will never leave these walls again”

Ming, a young guard, appeared with breakfast: a bowl of rice and a cup with some white jade tea.

"I bring breakfast" the female guard said as he approached with the tray.

“Be careful, Ming. Don't get too close to him” the warden Poon warned her and turned his gaze to Iroh “his stench could knock you out”

After saying that, the warden left the cell under the annoyed gaze of the woman, he looked at Iroh and walked until he was a few inches near the door of his cell.

“I brought you some white jade tea” Ming said as she placed the tray on the floor “I know how much you like exotic teas”

“Thank you, Ming” Iroh answered as he turned around and took the cup with the tea “since I was locked up here, you have been truly kind to me”

* * *

Everyone gathered to listen to the invasion plan, Sokka tried to inform the force about the next steps of the invasion, but his nervousness got the better of him; causing him to become more and more anxious until he loses track of her speech and begins to tell the whole story of how he met Aang. Hakoda decided to take charge of the matter and confidently spoke to the small army sitting on the ground.

“Let me clarify a few points for everyone” Hakoda said “today is the day of the black sun and I want to thank you everyone for your sacrifice and your bravery. There are two steps to follow in the invasion: a naval stage and an earthly stage, to gain access to the Fire Nation capital sea, we have to overcome our first major obstacle here…” he went to another map “the great gates of Azulon” he went to the next map “next, we will attack on land and we will do it with everything we have, we must fight beyond its battlements and secure the tower of the square, once we do this, we will continue straight to the royal palace, from that point the eclipse will begin”

“Excuse me, but, Boulder is confused” Boulder said as he raised his hand to call the Southern Water Tribe chief as a sign of confusion and misunderstanding appeared on his face “the point of the invasion was not to attack the firebenders when they don't have powers during the eclipse?”

"The eclipse only lasts eight minutes" Hakoda replied "there is not enough time to carry out the entire invasion and the royal palace is guarded by firebenders, so that is where we will need the eclipse to gain greater advantage. By the time this is over, the Avatar will have already defeated the Fire Lord, we will have full control of the Fire Nation capital and the war will be over”

They all applauded and prepared to leave; Appa was dressed up with a brown and gold armor, and Aang shaved his head, he felt a little bad for having to do it, but he had no choice, the airbenders should not have hair on their heads, it is the custom, the only person from the Fire Nation who saw him with dark brown hair was Zuko, of course his friends were never supposed to know that he had met Zuko the night of the cave dance party. He shook his head to forget his recent thoughts about the Fire Nation prince, it was not good for him to keep thinking about him, not after what he had said that night, he still did not believe that he was capable of executing such a plan, he knew him well and knew that was not proper of him. Maybe he would give him another chance when the invasion was over.

Meanwhile, Zuko was in his bedroom wearing his battle armor that they made him wear to join in the invasion, he looked at his reflection in the mirror and sighed when he saw the kind of person he had become, but today he would put an end to it. So, he got rid of his armor, undid the traditional Fire Nation royal family hairdressing by letting go of his dark hair that had grown a little longer during that short period of time, once this was done, he took a scroll and began to write a farewell note for his friend, Mai, only her could know of his departure, he trusted her and was sure she would not tell anyone. The day of the black sun had finally arrived, today would be the day that he would execute the final phase of his plan, face his father, ran away from the Fire Nation and join the Avatar team to help them stop the war and also hope for Aang to forgive him this time, things had not ended well since they last saw each other and Zuko just wished the young Avatar would finally understand that he was trying to correct his mistakes and this time he was serious.

After shaving his head, Aang went to check up on Sokka, who was now wearing his armor and holding his helmet in his hands, he felt ashamed of his previous behavior, but then he looked up as soon as he saw his friend approach with his new glider and land next to him.

“We have been looking for you everywhere” Aang told to his friend after landing next to him on the grass “the boats are ready to go”

"I ruined it, Aang" Sokka said, lowering his head in disappointment.

“What?”

“The invasion plan was my moment of truth and I completely ruined it” the Southern Water Tribe warrior said to his friend “I just... fell apart”

“Sokka, that speech wasn't your moment of truth” Aang said as he approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder as a sign of consolation “that was just public speaking, and no one is really good at it”

“My dad is, he explained the plan perfectly and inspired everyone” Sokka said feeling more ashamed than before “as a true leader should do”

“Look, your moment of truth will not be in front of some map. It's going to be out there on the battlefield.”

“You seem so confident of everything; how do you know that we are going to win?”

“Because I already failed the world once in Ba Sing Se. I will never fail myself again.”

* * *

The invading forces headed for the great gates of Azulon hidden under a thick layer of fog, as soon as they approached to the gates an alarm sounded and a net rise from both sides of the gate blocking access. As soon as the net catches fire, groups of firebenders infiltrated on the boats only to discover that they were empty, the invading forces passed the gates in submarines powered by waterbending, but the submarines have a limited supply of oxygen so they must get to the surface before reaching the beach. As the submarines resurface to refill oxygen, the Avatar team meets again to wish each other good luck before temporarily parting ways, Aang and Katara go away from the others so they can say goodbye in private.

"Aang I… Katara I…" both said in unison and then their gazes a little nervous and embarrassed.

"You first" Aang said to the waterbender.

“We've been through a lot together and I've seen you grow up so fast. You’re no longer that naive and foolish kid that I found in an iceberg” Katara said making the young Avatar blush at her words “what I mean is… that I am very proud of you”

"Everything is going to be different after this isn't it?" Aang asked her.

"Yes, it will be" the waterbender replied putting a hand behind her neck with a bit of embarrassment.

“What if… what if I never come back?”

“Aang, don't say those things. Of course…” Katara tried to tell him, but was interrupted as soon as Aang pulled her to him in a strong hug, the waterbender was a bit surprised for a second, but then she returned the hug by placing her hands on her back, holding them tenderly.

"Promise me that if I never come back, you will take care of yourself and you will never forget me" Aang said to his friend while still hugging her.

"I promise” Katara said after breaking his hug, Aang, realizing how important this day is and that there was probably the possibility that he would not survive this time, closed the distance between him and the waterbender and kissed her. Katara kept her eyes wide open, but then slowly closed them accepting that kiss, for some reason, Aang did not feel anything when he kissed her, he did not feel the heat flow inside him, he did not feel sparks flew through his body, anything. After pulling away from the kiss, the young Avatar confidently took out his glider and flew away to face the Fire Lord, leaving Katara a bit surprised and flushed, but then sadly turned her gaze to the horizon, she knew perfectly well that Aang loved someone else and that he was only using her to forget the person he really loved and by doing this, they only hurt each other.

“Katara what are you doing out here?” Sokka called her, pulling her out of her thoughts “it's time to dive”

"Right, I'm on it" Katara replied, she jumped on Appa and created a bubble around his head so that they could both breathe underwater, Appa dived into the water as soon as the others began their attack.

Aang flew to the royal palace with his glider and could not help feeling a complete fool for what happened a few moments ago, what had gone through his head to kiss Katara that way? he was not sure, maybe he had done it because a part of him was still hurt by what Zuko had told him that night they met in the prison corridor or maybe he wanted to forget the touch of his kisses or maybe he did it because he was heartbroken and just wanted to ease the pain inside him. Suddenly his stomach started to growl, so he opened the snack compartment of his glider, ate something, and continued his journey to the Fire Nation palace.

After the submarines evaded capture at a gate equipped with harpoon weapons, the invading forces finally managed to reach the beach near the capital. Upon entering the plaza, caterpillar haped tanks propelled by earthbenders are immediately unleashed and destroy the Fire Nation tundra tanks, as fighting ensues on the mainland, other warriors, masters, and eight supply trucks join the battle, the earthbenders caterpillar tanks are very resistant and manage to take down the Fire Nation tundra tanks. Huu uses his plantbending to create a giant monster made of seaweed.

After mentally apologizing to Mai and leaving the note in her bedroom, Zuko went to a small room where an altar was located and knelt in front of his mother portrait.

“I know I've made bad decisions, but today... I'm going to fix things” Zuko said “I'm going to flee from here and try to stop this senseless war once and for all and maybe... maybe the person I love could forgive me and we can finally be together”

Having said these words, Zuko went back to his bedroom, collected his broadswords, a bag with all his stuff, and walked away ready to face his destiny.

Katara, Hakoda and Sokka attacked the towers that were firing missiles at them with Appa’s help. Katara and Sokka manage to bring down a tower, Hakoda destroys another but ends up being wounded in the process, both brothers carried their father a short distance from the battlefield, Katara tries to heal their father using her waterbending; however, despite helping him with her waterbending, Hakoda needs time to recover before going back to the battle, therefore, Sokka promises his father and sister that he would take care of leading the battle instead. He is flying in Appa, lands among the troops that have apparently had a little disorganization, manages to regroup the invading forces, and orders them to continue the journey to the palace.

As the invasion forces tore down the capital wall, things seemed to be going well; however, when Aang entered in the capital city, he found it completely deserted, there was not a single person on the streets.

“This is strange, normally there are people walking through these streets...” Aang thought, this drastic change of scene, everything was so empty and quiet, too quiet, that was not normal in a city as busy as the Fire Nation capital, he came out of his trance and his defense mode and began to walk towards the palace. Once there, he opened the door and entered “the Avatar is back!” he yelled, however, he could see that there was no one around, something that led him to think that none of this could be more strange, but also led him to think that perhaps it was a trap and Aang began to believe in the possibility that he was being hunted.

Among the countless corridors and halls looking for the Fire Lord to be able to face him, Aang heard a few steps and stopped in the corridor, the steps seemed to stop too, how suspicious, he keep silent trying to perceive the movement of the person who was there in the same runner as him, but was shocked when the person on the other side of the wall, lunged in his direction causing him to fall to the ground and in a matter of seconds, he was hit directly in the face, causing the young Avatar to emit a grint of pain, forcing the person who attacked him to stop beating him while looking at him in anger.

"Aang?" Zuko put aside his expression of anger and looked at him between puzzled and confused.

“Zuko?” the young Avatar looked much more confused than him, he realized that the Fire Nation prince was wearing a red and gold cape, he also carried two broadswords and a bag “where... where are you going? I thought you were going to fight with your father”

“Actually I'm going to fight but against my father” Zuko replied, the Avatar processed the information as the prince heard a few steps approaching towards them, he took Aang's wrist and dragged him down the corridor and thrown him inside a small room that was there.

"Wait... I don't understand anything" Aang said to Zuko once they both entered inside that small room "are you going to face the Fire Lord? but why?”

“Because I lied to him, one day I had to face the consequences of my mistakes and redeem myself, especially with you. And that day is today, I recognize that I have done bad things and looking back the only thing that I have brought was more pain and remorse, rather than happiness and good memories, I know you probably hate me and I know that if my mother were here... she would hate me too. I have to do this for me, for her and… for you.”

Aang never expected to hear such a confession, especially from Zuko, he realized that this time he was serious but his mind made him recall all the things he said that night in the dark prison corridor and that made his hopes crumble once again.

“Zuko, you... you're an idiot!” Aang exclaimed, Zuko looked at him a little surprised but sadness was reflected in his eyes “you're an idiot for believing that your mother would hate you, she would be proud that you finally found your way, anyway... just like I am now” the Fire Nation prince’s golden eyes pupils shrank in surprise “but...” no, not again, Zuko could not take more pain than he already felt “even though you helped me a lot all this time, I could never hate you, but I can't allow myself to forgive you, my heart wants me to forgive you but my mind stops me, and if you think that you should stop your father and that I should help you, then you are...”

Zuko interrupted Aang's speech by hugging him, all the weight that they both carried on their shoulders disappeared during that brief moment, the young Avatar returned the hug by placing his arms around the firebender's waist, clinging tightly, in that instant, they both felt that they were regaining their strength.

“I'm really sorry, Aang. I am also grateful for having this opportunity, I may not become the best person in the world from one day to another but, I promise you I will try.”

The two left the room a bit embarrassed, the scene was comical and even more so knowing that Zuko left there blushing and with a smile. An external noise caught their attention, so they knew that they would have to part to follow their destiny now and who knows? maybe this would bring them back together.

"Its time isn't it?" Aang asked, Zuko nodded "let's do this!"

“I know it sounds scary, but you are the Avatar, nobody can stop you.”

"You're right but… I'm feared" the young Avatar replied.

“Feared? why?” Zuko asked looking at the boy with a worried face.

“Because what if I can't win this battle? what if I lose again? I don't want that to happen, I...” Aang was silenced by Zuko who pressed his lips against his, he took little monk’s neck bringing him closer and Aang clung to Zuko's robe, once again, Aang could feel sparks flew inside of his body, totally different from when he kissed Katara a few minutes ago. The kiss was deep but did not last long, when they pulled apart, Zuko winked at the Avatar, making him blush and left from there.

Aang stood there for a few seconds, before reacting, leave the palace and join the invading forces. Once he arrived using his glider, he could see that the battle was continuing, Katara and Sokka were already waiting for him, the young Avatar put away his glider wings and landed on the ground in front of them.

"Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a great weakling and you didn’t even need the eclipse to defeat him" Sokka said looking at his friend standing in front of him.

“He was not at home” Aang answered, that was true, but he could not tell them that he had seen Zuko while he was looking for the Fire Lord “in fact, no one was there, the whole city is desert”

"They already knew it..." Sokka said when he realized the situation.

“It's over. The Fire Lord has probably long gone to a remote island where he will be safe during the eclipse.”

“No” the Southern Water Tribe warrior said thoughtfully “my instincts tell me that he would not go too far, he would have to have some secret bunker to go to and be safe during an attack, but it should be close enough to keep leading his nation”

"If an underground bunker is what we're looking for, I'm the right girl to find it" Toph suggested, offering herself to begin the search.

“The mechanic gave me this timing device” Sokka said as he took out a kind of clock that counted the time that was left for the invasion forces to defeat the Fire Nation “it seems we have about ten minutes until the eclipse appears completely , ten minutes to find the Fire Lord”

"We can still do this; we can still win this day" Aang said with a hopeful tone.

“Wait, if you knew that we would come here, then everything is a trap” Katara said stopping her friend and turned her gaze to her brother “maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure that we all leave from here safe and sound”

“All who are here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission” Hakoda said as he slowly got up due to the injury, clenched his fist tightly as he spoke “they know that everything is at stake, if there is still a chance and there is still hope, I think it would be better for Aang to do this”

“What do you think? you are the one who has to face the Fire Lord, after all” Sokka asked Aang as he looked at him “whatever decision you make, I support you”

"I’ll have to try" Aang replied.

* * *

With the help of Toph's ability to see underground, she managed to locate the secret bunker inside a nearby volcano, they passed through tunnels filled with gas and magma until they reached a metal door that Toph opened using her newly acquired metalbending. They cornered a Fire Nation noble and he pointed out where the Fire Lord's chamber was. As soon as the eclipse began, Aang opened the chamber door and to his surprise, he found Azula waiting for them.

“So, I suppose my doubts are confirmed, you are alive after all” the Fire Nation princess said “I had the feeling that you survived my attack, but that doesn’t matter, I knew about the invasion for months”

Meanwhile, Zuko went to the chamber where his father was hiding, now he was standing in front of the steel doors, he sighed softly, the decision was already made and there was no going back, he had already made a plan and he did not think to throw it out. He put a hand behind his back to make sure he had his broadswords with him.

“It's time” he said, placing a hand on the door and opened it “I'm going to face you”

"Prince Zuko, what are you doing here?" Ozai asked "why are you here?"

"I'm here to tell you the truth" Zuko replied.

“Tell the truth in the middle of an eclipse, this will be interesting” Ozai dismissed his guards, they turned and ran out of the chamber, the atmosphere was so tense that it could be cut with a knife (literally) but Zuko recovered his courage and he did not let it go “I'm curious what you're planning to do”

"In the first place, in Ba Sing Se it was Azula who defeated the Avatar, not me" Zuko said.

"Why would she lie to me about that?" the Fire Lord asked.

“Because the Avatar is not dead. He survived.”

“What?”

“In fact, he's probably leading this invasion. It could be on the way right now.”

“Get out of here!” Ozai angrily ordered as he got up from his seat “get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you”

"Another thing, I will no longer take orders from you" Zuko said defiantly, he had not come that far to give up so soon.

“You will obey me or that defiant breath will be the last one that you gave” Ozai said still angry, he began to walk threateningly towards his son, but Zuko prevented it, he drew out his broadswords and adopted a fighting position, his father could not do anything without his firebending.

"I'm going to speak my mind and you are going to listen to me" Ozai sat down again with a serious expression on his face "I wanted nothing more than to be by your side. For a long time all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me” he closed his eyes thinking of his father's cruelty towards him “I thought it was my honor what I wanted, but in reality I was just trying to please you. You, my father who banished me just for speaking out of turn. You, my father who challenged me, a thirteen year-old child, to an Agni Kai, how can you justify a duel with a child?”

“I did it to show you respect.”

“It was cruel and it was wrong.”

“Then you haven't learned anything.”

“No, I have learned everything, and I have had to do it on my own. Growing up we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history and somehow war was our way of sharing our greatness with the world, what an amazing lie it was, instead of respecting us, people fear us, the world is terrified of the Fire Nation, they don't see our greatness, they hate us and we deserve it. We have created an era of fear in the world and if we don’t want the world to destroy itself, we must replace it with an era of peace and... love” he added this last word in a low voice.

“And I thought you wanted nothing more than to be by my side. Your uncle has influenced you, isn't he?” his father said with a mocking and harsh voice.

“Yes, he did.”

"Well, maybe he can teach you the pass of tea and failure" Ozai replied sarcastically.

“No, he has taught me the pass of equality. There’s something else I must tell you.”

“No! enough was enough!” Ozai yelled, standing up.

“I have made an even more important decision... I will join the Avatar and I will help him defeat you” Zuko said “and I also want to tell you that I... that I’m gay”

“I already knew that idiot, Azula told me” the Fire Lord said, Zuko was surprised for a second, how on earth did his sister know that he is...? “you think you are brave enough to face me, but you will only do it during the eclipse. If you have real courage, you will stay here until the sun appears. Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?”

Aang, Sokka and Toph fought Azula and her Dai Li agents, who were eventually immobilized. Although she did not have her firebending, Azula proved to be too agile for Aang or the others to manage to take her down, Sokka stops Aang and Toph from chasing Azula further, realizing that she is only tricking them into wasting the remaining time, while they try to leave, Azula taunts Sokka by hinting that she has captured, imprisoned and (possibly tortured) Suki, which enrages the Southern Water Tribe warrior, who rushes towards her. Azula prepares to stab him with a hidden dagger, but Toph could feel her movement, quickly disarmed her, and cornered her against the wall with some earthbending handcuffs, Sokka holds Azula and demand her to reveal where the Kyoshi Warrior is.

"What happened that night?" Zuko asked to the Fire Lord.

“My father, the Fire Lord Azulon had ordered me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son and I was going to do it. Your mother apparently found out and swore that she would protect you at all costs” Ozai told him “she knew I wanted the throne and she proposed me a plan... a plan with which I would become the Fire Lord and your life would be saved. Your mother did treacherous things that night, she knew the consequences and accepted them, for her betrayal, she was banished”

"So, she's alive..." Zuko said who felt a tear slide wetting his cheek.

“Maybe, and now I realize that banishment was too kind a penalty for treason and for monsters like you, your penalty will be much more severe.”

Without even thinking about it, Ozai sent a powerful lightning bolt to his son, Zuko managed to catch the lightning and redirected it towards Ozai, counterattacking, causing an explosion that pushed the Fire Lord against the wall. Fire was everywhere, and by the time the smoke cleared, Zuko was already gone.

* * *

Azula realizes that the eclipse is over because she can feel that firebending comes back to her, using her blue flames she manages to separate the three members of the Avatar team, she takes a turn remaining on her knees on the earth wall, manages to free himself from Toph's earthbending handcuffs escaping from Sokka and the others.

“Dad is at the end of the corridor” the Fire Nation princess said revealing the exact location where her father was “then go down a secret staircase to the left, I'm sure he will be happy to see you now”

Believing that she could defeat them now that the eclipse is over, Azula flees the bunker leaving Aang, Sokka, and Toph standing in the middle of that tunnel.

“I will fell for that!” Sokka yelled annoyed at the princess who ran away from there laughing out loud “agh, I can't believe it, she made us waste all our time”

"It's not your fault, Sokka" Toph told him, turning her head towards the Southern Water Tribe warrior “Azula was ready to wait for us, she had all her movements planned”

“And now, it's too late.”

"Maybe it's not too late, the eclipse is over, but I can face the Fire Lord anyway" Aang said as he turned to look at his friends who were behind him.

"No, I don't think it's a good idea" Sokka said stopping his friend.

"But I have to, I came here to finish the job and everyone is counting on me" Aang told him.

“The Fire Lord knew we would come this time, we thought we had the surprise factor on our side but it was not like that” Toph said “it was just not our day, now what we have to do is go back and help our friends”

"I suppose you are right" the young Avatar said a bit disappointed, but he could feel a hand resting on his shoulder, he raised his gaze to find Sokka standing in front of him.

“You'll have another chance. I know you will.”

Coming out of the bunker, Zuko ran down a slide towards the airfield, the larger airships had already taken off, he found a small war balloon charged and ready to go. He jumped inside ignoring the shouts of the guards, sliced the sandbags and soon headed the clouds, soaring until he caught sight of Appa and began to follow him, occasionally turning his gaze to the drifting aircraft behind of them.

After that, Aang, Sokka, and Toph go back to the battlefield, as fleets of hot air balloons and zeppelins emerged from behind the palace and attempted to attack the invading forces. The troops attempt to stop the fleet of aircraft but find they are outnumbered. The aircrafts destroy the submarines, making it impossible for the invading forces to escape. Hakoda tells Aang and the younger fighters to run away while the adults are left behind to be taken as prisoners. After saying goodbye, the rest of the Avatar team, along with Haru, Teo, and the Duke, climb onto Appa and as they soar into the air, Aang tells them that the Western Air Temple will be a safe place to hide for a while. On the other side, Azula watches them fly away from one of the airships as the group escapes but she chooses not to chase them, trusting that one day they would come back.


	13. Chapter XII: The Western Air Temple

At the end, the invasion turned out to be a total failure. The exhausted and reduced invading force had no choice but to surrender and be captured, Aang sat on the back of the saddle, staring through the clouds with tears in his eyes, he felt bad about having to leave the invading forces behind, but, on the other side, Hakoda was right, they should hide in a safe place so that Aang could get ready to defeat the Fire Lord when the time came. While they were flying, Aang could see a shadow approaching towards them, it seemed to be a Fire Nation war balloon, for a second he start to think that someone was following them to attack them but then he concluded that perhaps it could be Zuko, he was not sure if it was him, the balloon was flying several meters away.

After flying for a long time, the group landed in an open field, Appa was exhausted, the hot sun beating down on them as they continued on their way on foot.

"This is embarrassing" Katara commented.

“What's embarrassing? that our butts get completely kicked by the Fire Nation or having to walk all the way to the Western Air Temple?” Sokka asked.

"Both" she replied.

The group continued their journey with their heads down wondering what the adults were doing at the time, probably heading to a Fire Nation prison or something similar. None of them noticed the small red dot that followed them high in the clouds.

"Okay, guys, we're here!" Toph exclaimed near a cliff.

“Are you sure? there's nothing here” Sokka said looking out over the vast plain.

"Wow, that's amazing!" she continued.

"You're right!" Aang said running towards a small stone post "we're here! everyone comes closer!” the others ran and stood on an intricate stone floor of some unknown origin. Aang created a current of air towards an opening in the post and the floor began to slowly fall towards a cavern “welcome to the Western Air Temple”

Meanwhile, Zuko, who had been following the Avatar Team from the invasion on their war balloon, arrives first and descends to the Western Air Temple with a rope. Walking around, he remembered the last time he had been there and that had happened a week after his banishment.

_*Flashback*_

_The banished prince, with a fresh burn on his face and a single eye bandaged was in the Western Air Temple with his uncle standing in one of the temple halls staring at the horizon. Iroh was standing behind him._

_"What a dazzling sight" Iroh commented._

_"The only sight I'm interested in seeing is the Avatar in chains" Zuko said without even looking at him._

_“You know? the Avatar has not been seen in a hundred years” the old man told him “the chances of finding him here are very slim”_

_“First, we will explore each of the Air Temples. Then we will travel atound the world, looking even the most remote places until we find it.”_

_“Prince Zuko, it's only been a week since your banishment. You should take some time to heal your wound and rest" Iroh suggested, lately he had seen his nephew tired and completely obsessed with his purpose of finding the Avatar to bring him to his father and that was not good for his health. Instead of listening to his uncle and doing what he suggested, Zuko turned to glare him._

_“What else would I expect to hear from the laziest man in the Fire Nation?” the young banished prince yelled, Iroh just sighed, there was no point trying to reason with him, Zuko stopped looking at his uncle and looked back at the horizon “the only way to regain my honor is by finding the Avatar and that's what I will do”_

_Iroh did not say anything else, he just lowered his gaze, turned around and walked away from that corridor, leaving the young prince alone._

_*Flashback end*_

He could not help but feel ashamed to relive that memory; however, his lament did not last long, he was interrupted as soon as he saw Appa's shadow flying above where he was, he ran out of there as fast as he could to hide, at least until he managed to convince the Avatar team that he was on their side all this time and that he wanted to help them to stop the war. He made camp in a wooded area not far from the Western Air Temple, set up a makeshift tent, and when finished, he ducked into the basket of his war balloon to check the supplies, found a rope with which to tie the balloon and a small metal box, he opened it and inside it he found water and some jerky meat.

Later, almost sunset, after taking out the metal box with the limited rations that he was supposed to try to keep between that night and early tomorrow, Zuko began to practice his speech with a badger-toad to convince the Avatar team to be accepted as Aang's firebending teacher.

“Hello, Zuko here” he said with a bit of nervousness “well, I guess you probably already know me... more or less... uh... the thing is, I have a lot of experience in firebending, and I consider myself quite good at that, well, you know, I suppose you've seen me before when I was attacking you. Uh yeah, about that, I think I should apologize for that, even so, I'm good now, I mean, I thought it was good before, but now I realize I was bad, but... anyway... I think it's time to join your team and teach Aang firebending”

“Riiii-biiit.”

“Ergh, you're not much help, you know” Zuko said to the toad he was talking to “this doesn't make sense, they will never believe me... what would my uncle do?” he asked himself with a thoughtful voice “Zuko, you must see inside yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then, your true self will reveal itself... ugh, even when I'm speaking for him, I can't understand what he's saying... what would Azula do?” he started to speak like a girl “listen to me, Avatar. I can join your team, or I can do something unspeakably horrible to you and your friends, you choose… ok! that doesn't sound right, I'm trying to make them like me and possibly let me join in, not to kill me”

That same night, Zuko could not sleep for a few hours, he remained sat on the ground looking at the flames moving wildly in the small campfire that he had lit so he would not be cold while he slept in the open field. To say that he was nervous was not enough, he was anxious, eager to meet the Avatar team but not to fight, but to ask them to give him a second chance and let him join them, happy to know that he would finally do things right but at the same time. For a long time he was afraid, afraid that Aang would not want to have him around, not even as his firebending master and rejected him again, Zuko would feel lost, because finally, after facing his father, betraying his sister and leaving everything back, he realized that just having Aang around him make him felt warm inside, a heat that he had never felt before running through his insides, he did not even feel it when he used his firebending techniques, the heat he felt when he was around the young Avatar it was totally different.

After being lost for a long time in his own thoughts, Zuko managed to close his eyes and finally fell asleep, if everything went well tomorrow night, he would be sleeping in one of the bedrooms in the Western Air Temple.

* * *

The next day, the day dawned sunny, bright, and hot, too hot, Zuko woke up thirsty and sweating from the heat, maybe it was not a good idea to sleep outside all night. He needed to find a place to cool off and drink some water, the water that he had kept in his metal box that he took from the war balloon had run out the day before and the only thing left in the box were some pieces of jerky meat that he would eat later, if his memory was right, he remembered that not far from his campsite there was a river, it was early in the morning for someone else to come to the place where he was, so he had some time to walk to the river, cool off, drink some water and go back to the campsite. Knowing that he was only going to the river Zuko took off his robe and only kept his pants and boots on, after that he began to walk towards the river, he walked for a few minutes feeling the heat of the sun warm his skin, which only made him made him sweat a little more, but all his effort was worth it because he finally reached the river, he approached to the edge kneeling in it, seeing his reflection in the crystal clear water, he scooped up some water with his hands and drank it, he felt so good to feel something cold slide down his throat, once he double-checked that no one was around, Zuko finished taking off his clothes, leaving his underwear on, he placed his pants and boots on a nearby rock, went back to the river and dived half of his body in the cold water. He instantly felt his entire body tremble at the contact with the coolness, so he waited a few seconds before submerging completely. A few seconds passed and when he felt his body get used to the cool water, Zuko began to swim and from time to time he poured some water on his head to cool off, he spent an hour in that river until he noticed a shadow fly overhead of him. The firebender turned his gaze and saw how the shadow disappeared from sight until it disappeared behind some trees, at the idea of being observed, the firebender jumped out from the river, ran away from there forgetting to go to pick up his clothes and hid behind some bushes, his golden eyes could see the mysterious person come out of the trees, seeing that this person was nothing more and nothing less than Aang.

_"What is he doing here?"_ Zuko thought as he saw the young Avatar walking towards the river, he carried with him what seemed to be a jug to collect water and take it to the Western Air Temple. Zuko remained hidden in his place attentive to the next movement of the boy, when, suddenly, he could see how he took off his clothes not far away from him but he stopped when he noticed that there was some clothes placed on a rock not far from away from him, at that moment, the firebender wanted to hit his forehead with one hand, how could he be so stupid to leave his clothes there? now Aang would know that he was there, but apparently the boy could not recognize the clothes, he only believed that there was someone else there, so he began to look around before going into the river.

“Hello? is there anyone there?” Aang asked, Zuko did not answer, he just remained quietly hidden behind the bushes, after a few seconds looking around, Aang just gave up and got into the river. Another hour passed where the firebender looked Aang swimming in the river, he could appreciate his slightly pale shoulders being illuminated by the warm sun of that day, he contemplated him for a moment more until he could see that Aang stopped swimming to check if there was someone nearby, then Zuko noticed how the young Avatar lay his back on the edge of the river, in an area where the water covered only half his waist, he closed his eyes and slowly his hand reached under the water disappearing into it.

_"What is he going to do now?"_ Zuko thought, a part of him wanted to go to the place where Aang was to appreciate it more closely but he did not want to move from there, his curiosity forced him to stay and continue watching from a distance. He came out of his thoughts when he heard a sigh of relief come out of the young Avatar's mouth and his cheeks flushed when he knew what he was doing at that precise moment.

On the other hand, Aang let his hand roam freely through the river cold water, he held his breath as soon as his hand brushed against his dick, holding it firmly and blushed furiously, his dick was already aroused by a simple touch and needed to be released soon. Aang inhaled and exhaled for a short minute, Zuko, who was on his knees behind the bushes, he could feel his own cock throbbing inside his underwear just by seeing the young Avatar’s actions, if only he could come out of his hiding place and...

His own thoughts were interrupted as soon as he saw how Aang took his dick and began to stroke himself, biting his lower lip to avoid moaning aloud, the young Avatar keep there under the water, caught in his own wave of heat as he dealt with his needed erection. A soft moan escaped from his lips and his mind began to torture itself with thoughts of a certain firebender.

“Mhmm... Zuko” Aang said between moans and gasps as he clenched his erection and began to move his hand up and down quickly, the pleasure he felt was overwhelming, he couldn't help but imagine Zuko there with him, touching his body with his warm hands, biting the skin of his neck while slowly brushing his erections creating a nice and incredible friction between them “aah~ Zuko...”

Zuko's face turned red like blood itself when he realized that he also had an erection, so he put a hand in his underwear, his hand took his cock and began to lewdely stroke it at the time his thoughts began to race, he fantasized with Aang kneeling in front of him, imagining that the hand holding his arousal belonged to the little monk, he wondered how soft those hands would be and how they would feel compared to his own hand. He also dreamed of Aang going a little further, lowering his head between his legs, tenderly kissing his cock and introducing the tip into his mouth, Zuko threw his head back and gasped at that thought, he wanted Aang to love his body tenderly, he wanted him as much as he wanted him, he wanted the young Avatar to be the one who gave himself entirely to him, to turn around and offer him his ass so he could fuck him as many times as he wanted.

Zuko bit his lower lip hard, reveling in the sensation of his hand stroking his cock as he lost himself in his erotic fantasies involving the young airbender, he also thought of Aang moaning at the sensation of losing his virginity, moaning in pure pleasure, climaxing as they made love in his own thoughts. And that was what he needs to reach his limit, he imagined himself cumming inside Aang, releasing his secent inside him and making the boy beg for more.

Both Aang and Zuko bit back a groan as they reached their limit at the same time, spilling cum from their dicks. Aang's body trembled at his recent orgasm until he calmed down, with a frustrated sigh he stepped out of the river to dry himself off, he had already wasted too much time there and had to go back to the temple before someone get worried about his long absence. After dressing up, Aang go back behind the trees to collect his glider, before going back to the temple, he collected up some water in the jug he had brought with him and then flew away.

Zuko looked at him fly away from the river until he lost sight of him, he came out of the bushes to collect his clothes, got dressed and walk back to his temporary campsite, as soon as he arrived, he sat on the ground, opened the metal box and ate the jerky meat scraps left there, he finally made up his mind, it was time to go to the Western Air Temple and try to convince the Avatar team to let him join them. Upon reaching the temple, Zuko hid behind some rocks listening to the Avatar team discuss what they would do next now that the invasion plan had failed.

“Okay what will we do now?”

“Well, if you ask me, the new plan is to go back to the old plan” Sokka replied “you just have to master the four elements and face the Fire Lord before the comet arrives”

“Oh yeah, that's great. No problem, I will do it” the airbender replied without interest.

"Aang, no one said this was going to be easy" Katara told him.

"Well, it won't even be possible where am I supposed to get a firebending teacher?" Aang hated this, he hated it so much, it seemed like he could not do his job well.

"We could look for Jeong Jeong" Katara suggested, Aang sighed as he leaned back against the stone he was sitting on.

“Yes of course. As if we could find Jeong Jeong again” he said, looking away.

“Who the hell is...? nevermind, when you have something important to say, I'm going to talk” Toph added, murmuring that last phrase in a low voice.

"Oh well, I guess we can't find anyone" Aang spoke trying to dispel the conversation about firebending that left him confused and frustrated.

The team was now more than at a loss as to what they were going to do now, they had no idea what they were going to do to defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrived, they began to discuss different plans and strategies, when, suddenly, someone appeared behind the rocks, it was Zuko.

“Hello, Zuko here” he greeted in the most friendly way possible but apparently that did not work because Katara, Toph and Sokka got into attack position “I guess you probably already know me, more or less, the thing is that I have a lot of experience in firebending, and I consider myself pretty good at it. Well, I think you've seen me before, you know? when I was attacking you? Uh, yeah, I think I should apologize for that, but I'm still good now. I mean, I thought it was good before, but now I realize I was bad, anyway, I think it's time to join your team and teach the Avatar firebending, I guess you are surprised to see me here”

"Not really, since you've been chasing us all over the world" Sokka said.

“I know this may seem like a surprise considering everything we've been through, but I want to join your team, I want to help you defeat my father and restore balance in the world. This war should not have continued as it has done until now, I am ashamed of my ancestors for having brought this kind of chaos to the world and…” Zuko turned his gaze towards Aang, who tried to avoid that kind of contact with him, he could not let him notice the blush on his face “and I can teach you firebending”

“How can we trust you? how will we know that later you will not betray us?” Sokka said remembering what had happened in Ba Sing Se, calling Zuko’s attention who turned his gaze away from Aang.

“I know it's difficult to trust me after everything I've done and I'm sorry, but I've already betrayed my father and sister to be able to defend what is right, there is nothing for me there” Zuko explained looking again at Aang a bit hurt and confused. Aang felt sorry for him and was going to say something to him but when he noticed the looks his friends were giving him, he had to change his mind.

“There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done, we'll never let you join us!”

Zuko had to admit that that answer hurt him, he couldn't believe that Aang could say something like that to him, but he understood, if the airbender had betrayed him he would also feel bad for what he did, however; he was snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing Katara's voice.

"Get out of here, now!" She exclaimed.

“I'm trying to explain that I am no longer that person.”

"You better go if you don't want us to attack you" Sokka said with a threatening tone in his voice.

“If you don't accept me as a friend” he leaned down and extended his hands “then maybe you’ll take me as a prisoner”

"No, we won't!" Katara yelled and attacked Zuko with waterbending, he could have dodged the attack, but he did not do it, instead he closed his eyes and accepted the attack as he did the same with his destiny. He looked at Aang again as if he was waiting for him to interfere or help him but he did not do it, the airbender reacted and wanted to get closer to help him but Katara stopped him “get out of here and don't come back! and if we ever see you again... we better not see you again!”

Zuko got up off the ground dripping water from the attack that Katara threw at him previously. Aang could swear he even saw tears forming in his golden eyes but before he could decide what to do, Zuko was already gone. He felt bad for him, but there was nothing he could do to try to comfort him without his friends becoming suspicious of the situation and his strange behavior. After Zuko left, the discussions started again, but this time they were different.

"Why the hell did you chase him away like this?!" Toph asked raising her voice, she could have a strong and powerful personality when she wanted.

“You don't know Zuko like we know him!” Katara said angrily “he followed us around the world trying to kill us and capture Aang. That's all he wants; that's why we can't trust him”

"I have to make a confession" Aang said calling Katara's attention, making her look at him “do you remember when you two were sick and Zhao captured me?"

"And you made us suck on those frozen frogs?" Sokka interrupted with a sarcastic tone in his voice, but with an annoyed look on his face "how could I forget? I had a wart hanging from the back of my throat for a month”

"Sokka, I checked it and I told you there was nothing there" his sister said giving him a serious look.

“Well, I don't know what it is… but the wart hanging on the back of my throat is mine!” the Southern Water Tribe boy exclaimed annoyed.

"Even so, when Zhao chained me in his fortress, it was Zuko who entered and took me out" Aang finished telling them "he... risked his life to save me."

The young Avatar smiled slightly when he remembered the moment when Zuko, disguised as the Blue Spirit, had infiltrated Zhao's fortress in order to take him out of there, without a doubt, what he had done had been something very kind of him and it was in that moment when he began to think that perhaps there was some kindness in him; however, the voice of a certain waterbender brought him out of his thoughts.

"No way, that's impossible, I'm sure he only did it so he could capture you himself" Katara said, interrupting her friend, unable to believe what she was hearing.

“Yeah, accept it, Aang. You’re nothing more than a great prize for him” Sokka said supporting his sister's theory.

"That's not true!" Aang exclaimed surprising his other two friends, including Toph, well she just widened her blind eyes upon hearing those words “uh... I mean, you're probably right”

“And what was all that madness about freeing Appa? what a liar.”

"Actually, he wasn't lying" Toph said, calling her friends attention.

“Oh, hooray. From a lifetime of evil, we could exclude animal cruelty from his list, don't you think?” Sokka commented sarcastically.

"I'm just saying that, having a dysfunctional family and the way he was raised, I'm surprised he didn't turn into someone much worse... someone like Azula."

“You know? you're right, Toph” Katara replied with a sarcastic tone similar to her brother “come on, let's find him and give him a medal that says ‘he's not as jerk as he seems’”

“All I know is that while he was talking to us, he sounded sincere. Maybe your feelings of anger and pain are not letting you think clearly” Toph told them without turning her head towards her friends, deep in his heart, Aang had to admit that maybe his friend was right about what she was saying. But sadly, Katara and Sokka were not of the same opinion.

"It's easy for you to say, you weren't there when the pirates attacked us" Katara exclaimed.

"Or when he burned down Kyoshi Island village" Sokka said clenching his fists.

"Or when he tried to capture me in the Fire Temple" Aang said, he hated this, but this time he had to agree with his other two friends.

"Why are you trying to defend him?" the waterbender asked to the earthbender.

“Because, Katara, everyone is ignoring a crucial act” Toph said as she approached them and stomped the ground with her foot “Aang needs a firebending teacher, we can't think of a single person in the world suitable for the job and now, when one appears on a silver platter, don't you even consider it?”

"I'm not going to have Zuko as my teacher" Aang replied as he stood next to Sokka and Katara.

“You’re absolutely right” Sokka said supporting the young Avatar and turned his gaze towards Toph “you my friend, don't have it”

"Well, I suppose this is already solved" Katara said wanting to end the discussion, that only made the earthbender angry and growled furiously.

“I'm starting to wonder who the blind is really here.”

With these words spoken, Toph left the temple and began walking to the woods to find Zuko. It was already dark and Zuko was sleeping in his tent or at least that was what he was trying to do, his thoughts were focused on Aang and what he had told him when he tried to convince him and his friends to join his team.

"What am I going to do?" the ex Fire Nation prince thought as he snuggled into the blanket that wrapped his body "should I keep trying until they accept me? what's wrong with me?” he could feel the tears coming from his eyes, he was crying “I'm so stupid why is it so hard to be good? this is a complete mess” heard someone go through the bushes “who is there? get away!” the person turned out to be Toph, but being unable to see in the dark, Zuko immediately attacked the intruder. Toph tried to protect herself, but the soles of her feet burned as soon as she took a few steps back “sorry, I didn't mean to, it was a mistake”

"Get away from me" Completely blind, Toph scooted onto her hands and knees in fear; Zuko tries to help her, but she pushes him with away with earthbending.

As soon as she was gone, Zuko screamed in frustration.

"Why am I so bad at being good?!" He exclaimed a little annoyed with himself.

* * *

It was morning when the group began to wonder about Toph's whereabouts. She tunnelled through the cliff where the Western Air Temple was located using her earthbending, exited the tunnel and fell to the ground.

"Toph, what happened to you?" Katara asked with a worried face.

"I burned my feet" Toph replied as she tried to keep her feet in the air.

“Oh, no, what happened?”

"I just told you that I burned my feet" the earthbender repeated, doubting if her friend was listening to her or simply pretending to be deaf.

"I meant how" Katara corrected herself.

“Well, I went to see Zuko to talk to him last night.”

"You what?" Aang said, who could not believe what he heard.

“Zuko? but why?”

“I just thought it could be useful to us” the earthbender said as Katara drew water from her canteen and began to heal her feet “and if I spoke with him, we could reach an agreement”

"So, does he attacked you?" Sokka asked.

“Well, he did it and at the same time he didn't want to. It was some kind of accident.”

"But did he attack you with firebending?" Aang said, Toph sighed and affirmed at her friend's question.

“You see? you trusted Zuko and you get burned… literally” Sokka exclaimed.

"It's going to take a while for your feet to get better" Katara said once she finished her healing treatment "I wish I had worked on them sooner."

"Yes, me too" the earthbender said as the waterbender put the water back in her canteen.

"Zuko is clearly too dangerous to leave alone, we will have to go after him" Sokka suggested to his friends.

“I hate having to go looking for a fight, but I must admit that this time you are right” Aang said feeling a bit disappointed “after what he did to Toph, I don't think we have a choice”

"He's cunning, but we'll find a way to capture him."

"Just invite him to come back here" Toph suggested as she tried to get up from the ground, Aang and Sokka helped her "he already offered himself as our prisoner once"

"Yes... make him come back and tell him that he will be our prisoner, then we corner him and we will consider him our prisoner there" Sokka said considering his friend's suggestion.

"You are a master of surprises, Sokka" Katara commented as she walked behind them. Unbeknownst to them, Combustion Man appeared on the highest ledge of the temple and prepared to attack the group. Zuko arrives and stops him from attacking the group with a safe shot, redirecting his attack, and alarming the others, who went to find a safe place to take cover.

"Stop!" Zuko exclaimed trying to prevent the assassin from attacking them even more "my sister sent you, didn't she? I don't want you to capture the Avatar” Aang was surprised when he heard Zuko say that Azula had sent an assassin to finish them off “the mission is canceled, I order you to stop” Combustion Man did not hear him, he pushed him aside and shot at the fountain destroying the top, Zuko got up from the ground and tried to stop the assasin with his firebending “well, listen, I'll pay you double what she gave you”

Combustion Man, instead, turned to Zuko and knocked him off the ledge of the temple, though he managed to grab onto a vine just in time. Aang and Katara used their water and airbending to counterattack Combustion Man, however their position leaves them at a serious disadvantage against him and his barrage of explosions. Unable to get a direct line on them, Combustion Man changes tactics and begins targeting the structures, intending to blow up the entire temple from the cliff.

While shielding themselves from attacks, Sokka underestimates Combustion Man's position based on the angles at which the explosions hit the ground, he threw his boomerang, curving it around a corner, hitting Combustion Man directly at the third eye tattoo on his front, blocking his chi and leaving him disoriented. Combustion Man attempted to shoot another attack but having his chi blocked, he causes everything around him to explode, causing the structure he is standing on to break off the cliff and plummet into the misty canyon below the temple. all that remains of Combustion Man is his metal arm, which also falls into the depths of the cannon.

Seeing that the danger was over, Zuko climbed up the vine and reached the ledge of the pagoda, once at the top of the ledge, he walked to the fountain corridor and found the Avatar team waiting for him.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but thank you Zuko" Aang said as he raised his gaze to the firebender.

“Hey! what about me? I did the boomerang thing y'know?” Sokka said as he moved his arms in a goalie position.

“Listen, I know I didn’t explain well yesterday, I have been through a lot in recent years and it has been difficult, but I have realized that I had to go through these things to learn the truth” Zuko told them “I thought I had I lost my honor and that in some way, my father would give it back to me, but now I know that no one can give you your honor, it is something that you earn for yourself by choosing to do the right thing. All I want to do is play my role to end this war” Aang could feel that his words were honest and sincere and that now, more than anything, he could trust him “and I know my destiny is to help you reestablish the balance in the world” he turned his gaze to Toph “I'm sorry what I did to you, it was an accident, fire can be dangerous and wild. So, as a firebender, I need to be more careful and learn to control my element so that I can't hurt anyone ever again”

At hearing this, Aang recalled the moment he injured Katara by burning her hands when he was trying to learn to practice firebending for the first time.

“You were supposed to be my firebending master, when I tried to learn firebending for the first time, I burned Katara” Aang said to the boy in front of him “and after that, I never wanted to practice firebending again but now I understand how easy which can be hurting the people you care about, this time, I would like you to teach me”

“Thank you” Zuko thanked him “I'm so happy that they accepted me into their group”

"Not so fast" the young Avatar stopped him "I still have to ask my friends if they're okay with that" he turned at Toph who was sitting on a rock behind him "Toph, Zuko was the one who burned your feet, what do you think?"

"Go ahead, let him join in" Toph replied nonchalantly "it will give me plenty of time to make him pay for burning my feet."

“Sokka?”

“Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then I'm fine” Sokka replied with a shrug.

"Katara?" Aang asked looking at the waterbender with concern, she looked at his friend and then looked at Zuko who seemed nervous and finally made a decision.

"I'll agree with what you think is right" she replied, this response made Aang smile slightly.

"I won't let you down, I promise" Zuko promised enthusiastically.

Sokka awkwardly led Zuko into a bedroom for the ex prince to use, he began to unpack his stuff. As he left the bedroom, Sokka commented to Aang how strange it was to have Zuko around. Once established, Zuko took out Iroh’s portrait and fondly recalled his uncle's advice about destiny.

_*Flashback*_

_“If I have to, I will spend every day of the rest of my life chasing the Avatar” Zuko said to Iroh “I know it is my destiny to capture him”_

_“You know, Prince Zuko? destiny is a funny thing” Iroh advised him while placing a hand on his shoulder “you never know how things are going to work, but if you keep an open mind and heart, I promise you that you will find your own destiny one day”_

_*End flashback*_

He snapped out of his thoughts as soon as he saw Katara appear in the doorway and she stepped closer to confront him.

“Everyone else may have believed your transformation, but you and I know that you have struggled to do the right thing in the past'' the waterbender warned with a threatening tone in her voice “so let me tell you something right now. Give a step back, make a mistake, give me one more reason to think that you could hurt Aang and you will no longer have to worry about your destiny, because I will make sure that your destiny ends right now... permanently”

She turned and left the bedroom, leaving a visibly disturbed Zuko pondering her threatening words.


	14. Chapter XIII: The Firebending masters

The sun rose, a new day began in the Western Air Temple and a different day for some. That morning, Aang and Zuko went to a platform located some far away from the rest of the Avatar team after having a quick breakfast, the young Avatar simply followed him without hesitating and now he was there with Zuko, scared and anxious, he would finally learn firebending, an element that (according to him) was so dangerous that he had promised himself that he would never learn again a few months ago, but now things were different and he had Zuko by his side to teach him how to do firebending without take the risk of hurting someone again.

Before start with the training, Zuko tried to reassure him by telling him that firebending was not something to fear if you used it correctly but that he had to learn to respect it or he could lose control, Aang recalled the moment when he hurt Katara practicing firebending with Jeong Jeong.

“Now, show me what you have. Control as much fire as you can” Zuko said looking at Aang with soft eyes, Aang felt uncomfortable for a moment; however, that look managed to comfort him or at least that's what he felt until Zuko shook his head slightly out of his trance and calmed down. Aang took a deep breath, closed his eyes and rolled his hips, reaching out but all he got for his effort was a cloud of smoke. He blushed and looked shyly at his firebender before turning his gaze away, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Maybe I need a little more instruction, a demonstration, maybe? He murmured looking hopefully at his attractive firebending teacher... wait what? where did that thought come from? instead of getting mad at him, Zuko seemed to understand what Aang wanted to tell him and agreed saying it was a good idea.

"You may want to take a couple of steps back," said the prince, took a deep breath, positioned his body and stretched out his hands, growling as he prepared to perform a fire-bending attack.

_PUFF_

Aang wanted to laugh at such poor performance, maybe Zuko was playing a joke on him because, if he had to be honest with him, that was a very weak flame or maybe he was teaching him that it was okay to have weak fire and that it was not great problem.

“What was that? that's the worst firebending I've ever seen” Zuko muttered to himself and Aang got the distinct impression that it had not been a joke at all.

"I think that was… nice" the airbender commented a bit worried but he tried to stay positive. Zuko tried again and again getting the same result, the prince was upset and Aang did not like that, if only he could do something to help him but what could he do? He did not know firebending and he could not find an adequate solution to Zuko's problem whatever it was.

“Why is this happening to me?” Zuko asked angrily looking at his hands, Aang also looked at his hands, his hands were callused and rough, he began to wonder how those hands would feel exploring his body, sliding his fingers through his abdomen and navel, skimming all the way down, touching areas that not even the young Avatar knew he had before. He blushed heavily and shook his head a little just that that erotic fantasy disappeared as soon as it arrived.

"Maybe it's the altitude?" Aang suggested hoping to cheer Zuko up, but that didn't help much because the only logical answer he had was that Zuko could no longer do firebending, which implied that he no longer had a master to teach you to control this element.

It happened a while where Zuko tried to firebending without success, he started to get a little annoyed because nothing had happened during that period of time and Aang was starting to get bored.

"That one felt kinda hot" the young airbender commented.

"Don't patronize me, you have no idea how it's supposed to be" Zuko replied annoyed.

“Sorry, Sifu Hotman.”

“And stop calling me that!”

Sokka, who casually was walking by, saw the scene and could think of no better idea than to tease Aang and Zuko.

“Hey, jerks” he greeted both of them “do you mind if I watch of you both practice jerkbending?”

"Get out of here!" Zuko yelled at him.

“Ok, take it easy. I was just kidding.”

Night had fallen, Zuko stepped away from the group and leaned against Appa's side, running his fingers through the bison's soft fur. He had tried everything, went back to basics, tried other moves that were not complicated but all he got was sparks and smoke, no fire. It was gone and he had the suspicion that he knew why, he looked up at the campfire where the group was dining, talking and having fun. Zuko was not quite sure how to explain this, he had to tell them, Sozin's comet was approaching and Aang needed to be ready with or without their help. He straightened his shoulders and walked over to the group, coming up to the conclusion that he should tell them what was going on with him.

“Listen everyone, I have bad news” he said keeping a voice as firm as he could trying not to show how much the situation was affecting him “I have lost my things”

"Don't look at me, I didn't touch your things" Toph said lightly raising her hands to show her innocence.

“I'm talking about my firebending” he continued looking towards the lit campfire “it gone...”

“But how is that possible? a couple of days ago you were using your firebending against the combustion man well, how could you lose it?” Katara asked softly looking at him, trying to discover the reason, trying to help him in some way as it was part of her nature.

“It's not lost, it just got weaker for some reason” he explained “I suppose it must have been because he changed sides”

"That's ridiculous!" the waterbender commented. She quickly covered her mouth realizing what she said “sorry” she apologized feeling bad for him “I didn’t... I didn't mean that…”

“I'm not sure, but maybe it's not that” Aang said “maybe your firebending comes from anger and you just don't have enough anger to feed it like you used to”

“Then all we have to do is to make Zuko angry. Easy” Sokka said, he began to lightly hit his ribs and waist with his sword sheated in an attempt to make the firebender get angry.

“Okay! that’s enough, stop!” he yelled feeling the disappointment and rage battle inside him. Sokka was even intimidated by the yell Zuko gave him, in fact, he gave him a shy but understanding smile and sat back in his place next to Toph. Zuko began to think that those people were too good from his point of view, he could not believe how acceptable and compassionate they were with him when at first they attacked him by proposing to join in the Avatar team and they did not want to have any relation with him. He turned his gaze towards Aang and began to wonder what would have happened if he had accepted the offer to join him to stop the war, how much things could have changed if he had agreed to be his friend from the beginning “even if you were right” he spoke referring to to what Aang had said about his firebending being fueled by anger “I don't want to have to depend on rage and anger anymore, there has to be another way”

"You'll have to look for a different source, I recommend the original source” Toph suggested.

“And how he is supposed to do that? jumping into a volcano?” Sokka said laughing.

"No" the earthbender said making Sokka stop laughing "Zuko needs to find whatever is the original source of firebending."

Without further interruption, she began to talk about the badger moles, which were the original earthbending masters. Zuko began to feel melancholy with his account, realizing that he could not even consider Toph's suggestion as an alternative solution to his problem.

“Well, that doesn't help me much. The original firebenders were the dragons, but they are long extinct” he said gravely.

"What do you mean?" Aang asked incredulously "Roku had a dragon. And there were many dragons when I was a child”

"Well, the point is that they are gone, ok?" Zuko repeated annoyed and disappointed.

“Okay. Okay, I'm sorry" the young airbender replied trying to calm him down.

"But maybe there is another way" Zuko said as he walked away from the group "some of the first people to learn about dragons were the Sun Warriors."

“The Sun Warriors? well, I don't remember that they existed when I was a child” Aang said getting up and approaching to him.

-Not. Because they died thousands of years ago, but their civilization is not too far away from where we are now. Perhaps we can learn something by exploring its ruins.”

“It's like the monks told me, sometimes the shadows of the past can be found in the present.”

“So” Sokka spoke the Avatar and the firebender attention “maybe you locate a super ancient Solar Warrior energy just by standing where they were a thousand years ago?”

"More or less" Zuko replied, turning his gaze from the Southern Water Tribe warrior "either I find a new way to do firebending or the Avatar will have to find a new teacher"

Aang felt hurt by those words, but again, there was nothing he could do to solve Zuko's problem, they had to find the Sun Warriors civilization so that he could learn another way to regain his firebending. He just hoped this trip would pay off and maybe, just maybe, he might get a chance to spend a little more time with Zuko.

The next day, Aang and Zuko left the Western Air Temple and headed to the Sun Warriors ancient civilization in an attempt to find the secrets of the true meaning of firebending. They both flew in Appa the entire trip without speaking or exchanging glances, we could say that it was a calm and silent trip, completely boring.

"We've been flying for hours" Zuko finally spoke "I don't know, but I thought this would be much faster" he added referring to Appa. The flying bison began to growl at his comment and his lack of enthusiasm.

“Appa’s right. In our group, we typically begin our missions with a more optimistic attitude.”

"I can't believe this" Zuko complained, he could not find a positive point about the situation.

“Don’t worry. You will get used to it.”

After a few more minutes flying over the sea, they both reached an island where the ruins of the Sun Warriors civilization were located. Once they landed on Appa, air and firebender began to walk around the place, it seemed that it had been abandoned for a long time and they did not see anyone around.

“Even though these buildings are old. There’s something eerily familiar about them” Zuko said as he walked alongside Aang “I can even tell that the fire sages temples somehow descended from this”

“Ok, we are learning something about architecture. Hopefully, we'll learn something about firebending too. Sometimes the past can be a great teacher you know?” Aang commented as they walked, but he did not realize that he slightly tripped on a rope and some sharp spikes came out of the stone floor, he quickly used airbending to jump to the other side, once he succeeded, the young boy turned his gaze at Zuko “Zuko, I think the past is trying to kill me!”

“I can't believe it” Zuko spoke as he took the rope in his hand “this trap must be centuries old and still works”

“There are probably more” Aang said “maybe this means that we shouldn’t be here”

The firebender took a few steps back, started running, run over a wall and within seconds he was standing next to the young airbender.

“Where's that optimistic attitude you were talking about?” Zuko asked “besides, people don't cheat unless they have something worth protecting”

They turned their gazes to some stone stairs built like a kind of pyramid and they went there. Both climbed the stairs until they reached a large stone wall where they could see engravings of a Sun Warrior with flames in both hands and two dragons on either side of him expelling fire from their mouths in a circle.

“Look, this looks promising…” Aang said to Zuko trying to look the positive side of all this “although I'm not sure what he's saying”

“It’s the original source of firebending” the ex prince explained observing the engravings of the dragons creating the circle of fire around a Sun Warrior “they seem quite angry”

“I thought dragons were friends of the Sun Warriors.”

“Well, they had a fun way of showing it.”

“Zuko, something happened to dragons in the last hundred years” Aang said noticing the slight sad expression on the firebender's face “there’s something you aren’t telling me” without further interruptions, Zuko told the Avatar what happened with dragons a long time ago. He told him that Sozin started the tradition of hunting dragons in the Fire Nation for glory and because they were the last firebenders, he also recalled that his uncle Iroh killed the last living dragon before he was born “I thought your uncle was… good?”

“He had a complicated past” the firebender told him feeling bad for not having the chance to get him out of prison during the invasion and now he had no idea where he could be “family tradition, I guess...” he remained silent for a few seconds until that reacted “well, let's continue”

After walking for a short time they arrive to a stone plaza with a huge golden door that Aang tried unsuccessfully to open, Zuko turned his gaze upon noticing a stone pillar with a red stone on the top, then he looked down at the floor and he could see a red point marking an etched line on the ground.

“It’s a celestial calendar, like the one that the fire sages have in their temples” the firebender explained “the door will only open when the sun reaches the correct position on the solstice”

“The solstice, again?!” Aang exclaimed “I can't wait that long”

"Maybe we can't, but we can speed up time" Zuko drew one of his swords and reflected the sunlight against the metal blade. A few seconds passed in which nothing had happened “come on...” a few more seconds passed and finally that golden door opened. Inside there was a stone chamber with statues on different positions. They began to look around the chamber to see if they found anything that was useful, Aang saw one of the statues, he do the same pose and a stone platform descended under his foot, after doing this, he knew what they should do.

"Zuko, come here!" Aang said as he took the firebender's arm and tried to bring him closer to him "I want you to dance with me."

"W-what?!" Zuko blushed at what the young airbender said.

“Aw, please. Just came on!”

They both begin to execute the poses that the statues showed to them as the stone platforms were pushed under their feet. While performing the dance, they did not realize that they activated a key mechanism, at the end of the choreography, a pedestal was raised in the center of the chamber and it had a golden egg. Zuko reached over and was going to take it, but Aang stopped him.

“Don’t touch it!”

“Tell me why not?”

“Because it could be a trap.”

The firebender did not care about the Avatar's warning and took the golden egg holding it in his hands.

"It feels... warm, almost alive" he commented as soon as he finished saying this, a dark green sticky substance came out of the pedestal causing the firebender to stick his back against the metal bars on the chamber roof. Aang tried to avoid it, but the substance was too sticky, so he ended up clinging to Zuko's side “well, at least we have air. Maybe if we stay calm, we will get out of this”

“I take back what I said before Zuko... you’re an idiot.”

“Shut up.”

Hours passed and Aang began to realize that just having his first mission with Zuko they were trapped by a sticky substance and all because the former prince couldn't keep his hands to himself when it came to taking shiny things! first the past almost killed him, they learned about architecture, apparently all the dragons were dead, Zuko had a family tradition of complicated pasts, the ex prince managed to fool a sun stone, he danced with Zuko and finally the firebender decided to take the golden egg from the pedestal, something Aang had explicitly told him NOT to do.

"You had to pick up the shiny egg, isn’t it?" the airbender asked sarcastically.

"At least I made something happen" Zuko replied with the same tone but with the difference that you could notice that he was a bit annoyed by the answer from the boy next to him.

"HELP!" Aang yelled as loud as he could.

“Who are you yelling at?” the firebender asked arching an eyebrow as he looked at the boy next to him “no one has lived here in centuries”

"Well then what do you think we should do?"

"Think about our place in the universe?" Zuko asked, running out of options. Suddenly, the sticky substance around his legs began to harden and Aang froze at the thought that creepy, people-eating monsters were hidden in the substance, which terrified him even more.

"Zuko..." Aang whispered flexing his fingers on the bars he was holding "I think there's something in this stuff."

“What?”

“There's something moving under me.”

“Oh, that's just my hand.”

Aang widened his eyes and turned his head as best he could, looking at Zuko who was looking at him with a smile.

"Well... maybe you could have told me before I started imagining things!" he said sticking his tongue out at the Fire Nation ex princd, Zuko just chuckled, that sound sent a pleasant heat that flowed through his entire body and Aang looked away before Zuko even noticed his blush. They kept silent for a short minute and Aang felt Zuko's hand move more and now he was curious to know what the ex prince was doing, because unfortunately he could not move from the place where he was, not even a little “what are you doing now?” he asked craning his neck as much as he could, wondering if at some point he would see Zuko's hand come out.

“There’s an air bubble around my hand, if I can pass it directly towards you, you could bend it from the inside and get us out of here. I'm trying to move it using the limited firebending I have, something like ‘I'm burning a path through this thing’ and it seems to be working” Zuko explained with his tongue sticking out as he concentrated on moving his hand to pass the air bubble to Aang, he smiled at his master thinking that the idea was fantastic and that it could probably work.

"Okay, I say again what I told before, you are quite smart" the young Avatar said happily. Zuko smiled briefly at him and then concentrated on his task again, Aang leaned his head against the almost hard sticky substance, he looked at the sky and began to draw pictures with the clouds, waiting for Zuko to finish passing the air bubble, he was for several minutes until his gray orbs began to tire and he soon fell asleep; however, this moment did not last long, his eyes widened as he felt a wave of heat run through his body… and not specifically where it should be.

“AH.”

“Oh, sorry… was that your leg? I can't know where my hand is” the ex Fire Nation prince apologized.

“No, that's not my leg.”

“So what am I touching?”

At that statement, the former prince squeezed the flesh under the palm of his hand, whatever he was touching, it made Aang blush violently, he tried to move away in an attempt to avoid Zuko's touch, but had no luck with this, a chill ran down his spine when he felt how Zuko began to touch a certain area that made the young Avatar shudder and bite his lower lip in an attempt to suppress his moans.

"Z-Zuko..." Aang said while suppressing a moan that threatened to escape from his lips "your hand... your hand is brushing my..."

“Your what?” the Fire Nation ex prince asked, his hand was now trapped against the young airbender's body, but he could not move it or push it away without accidentally burning him in the process.

"Rubbing my… forget it, I'm not going to say it, it's… too embarrassing" Aang replied lowering his gaze, Zuko frowned a bit annoyed.

“Oh no, you won't leave me like this. Now tell me where my hand is” Zuko said waiting for a response from the young airbender.

"Okay, I can tell that your hand is brushing my... my entrance..." Aang said who felt a new blush spread across his cheeks, leaving them with a beautiful red color.

The reaction was almost immediate, the hand on his butt stopped moving and start to explore curiously, staying motionless against it. The ex prince stared at him with wide eyes before turning his gaze with a slight almost invisible blush dyeing his cheeks.

"Oh" was the only reaction from Zuko. A few seconds later, Aang could feel his teacher trying to move his hand again, but it was clear that the air bubble had somehow disappeared and now Zuko's hand was trapped there, stroking the younger boy's butt “sorry, Aang... I couldn't make this to work”

The young airbender was no longer uncomfortable with Zuko's touch, in fact, it could be said that he even liked having his hand on his butt. He even thought that he could become firebending just by blushing, because due to how hot his face was, Aang was almost certain that very soon there would be fire dancing on his cheeks, Zuko's hand was big and warm. and it made the young Avatar feel safe, supported and protected, as long as he had Zuko close to him, he knew he would be fine, he felt as if all the problems he had to deal with (war and having to learn firebending) were insignificant and unimportant problems. With Zuko touching him that way so softly and gently, it was as if his mind had been released from all the emotional burdens that he had to deal with day after day, that he carried with him for a long time, it was... more than anything euphoria that he felt.

"Aah!" Aang moaned softly when he felt the Fire Nation ex prince begin to brush his fingers against his butt again and pinch it “Z-Zuko, d-don't do that, please”

"Why shouldn't I?" Zuko asked stopping his actions, he turned his golden eyes towards the boy next to him and smiled at him "I thought we were having fun."

“Zuko, I mean it. Stop, I hear footsteps, someone is coming.”

"Who's down there?" a man asked with a slightly annoyed expression.

Minutes later, more people came there and helped Aang and Zuko out of the sticky trap, some kind of animals that appeared to be gigantic anteaters removed the substance with their big, slimy tongues. The people who helped them out of the trap were a kind of tribe with their skins baked by the sun, they wore red pre-Hispanic clothes and gold ornaments.

"You will be punished for trying to steal our sunstone" said a man who seemed to be the chief.

"It wasn't our plan to steal it" Zuko explained, trying to justify what happened and the real reason why they were there "we came here to find the ancient origin of firebending; I know my people distorted it to be fueled by anger, but I don't want to go that way anymore. I want to learn the true way”

“If you want to learn the meaning of firebending, then you must see masters Ran and Shaw” the chief said “tomorrow we will take you to the caves where you will meet the masters and they will judge if you are worthy of learning the true firebending meaning”

After saying that, the leader of the Sun Warriors led them to a room with two separate beds so that they could rest and be ready for tomorrow. Zuko and Aang lay down on their respective beds, but the firebender and airbender were sure that they would not be able to sleep that night. Nervousness and excitement ran through their bodies, so Aang turned his gaze to Zuko to talk to him and see if it helped them sleep fast.

"Zuko..." Aang called him but the firebender did not hear him, his gaze focused on the bedroom roof "hey, Zuko!"

"What?" he asked, turning his golden eyes towards the kid who was lying a few inches away from him.

“I can’t sleep. I'm too excited about what's going to happen tomorrow, I can't believe we'll meet the firebenders.”

“Neither do I.”

“How do you think they look? or what are they going to do or say after judging us?”

“I don't know, but if they try to attack us, don't forget that we can protect ourselves.”

Aang nodded at what Zuko said and after that little conversation, the young airbender rolled to the opposite side of his bed and tried to sleep; however, his thoughts did not leave him alone, not only because he was eager to meet the firebending masters and what they would be like in appearance, but also because he had many things tosol ve with the Fire Nation ex prince, among them was the reason why he had made the decision to join Azula instead of him when they were in Ba Sing Se, for a moment he believed that Zuko had chosen to be on his side and help them to stop the Fire Nation evil princess, but he was wrong, he had choose her all this time and that affected him in a way, although on the outside he tried to show that he was not hurt.

"Zuko..." Aang called him again, he got no answer from the opposite, he assumed that the firebender had fallen asleep, so he tried to wake him up by calling him by his name “Zuko... Zuko!”

"What do you want now?"

"Uh, I… there's something you and I should talk about and it's about what happened in Ba Sing Se" the young airbender told him but was interrupted by Zuko.

“I don't want to talk about it now, you were right, what I did was wrong and I admit it, I made you and Katara believe that I was on your side and it wasn’t like that, I ended up joining Azula before you and that's all I have to say, there is nothing to solve.”

“But I assumed that you would also want to talk about that with me, we can’t continue to avoid this issue forever and I think it’s time to solve it.”

“And what should we solve? I already apologized to you that time we met behind the Fire Nation prison and even explained to you the reasons why I had accepted to join Azula before you but you didn’t want to believe me, I don't know what else I should do so you can believe me and that you can forgive me” Zuko replied annoyed.

“If you really want me to forgive you and earn my trust and also my friends trust, then you must show that you are seriously sorry for everything you did” Aang said with a serious tone of voice, too serious, which he gave to understand the Fire Nation ex prince that what he was telling him was not a joke.

“And I am! I said it at the Western Air Temple and I say it again now, I'm sorry, okay? I'm really sorry, Azula was controlling me to convince me to join her and I didn't know what to do, at first I was so confused about what my true destiny was and when I finally thought I found the answer, I had no choice but to join my sister, I needed to make her believe that I wanted to be with her, go back home and earn her trust, only that way I could betray her and join you.”

“Are you serious? are you sure that's the whole truth and you're not trying to fool me again?”

“Yes, that's the whole truth. I would never lie to you with something like that, I mean it, I just… I just hope that this time you are able to believe me.”

"Sometimes just saying it isn't enough, Zuko. I need you to give me more time to think if I should trust you again” the young airbender said, turning his gaze and saw that it would not be long before the sun came out “we better rest a bit before going to see the masters”

“Yes, I guess you're right. Rest, Aang.”

In the morning, the Sun Warriors led them to the top of a pyramid where men and women gathered, when Aang and Zuko reached the top of the pyramid, they could see that there was an altar and a large flame on the centre of it.

"This fire is the first" the Sun Warriors began to explain to them "it was given to men by dragons a long time ago and we have kept it alive ever since. If you’re going to meet the masters, you must take a part of the fire with you” the man approached the huge flame, took two small flames and gave them to the firebender and airbender who were standing in front of him, Zuko took it with no problems, but Aang began to doubt about taking the flame because he did not know to firebend yet “this ritual represents our philosophy, if you make the flame small it will go out but if you make it too big it could lose control. Each one will take a part with you to the masters to demonstrate your commitment to the sacred art of firebending” he pointed to a mountain a few meters from the pyramid where they were “the masters cave is passing that rock”

As they traveled towards the cave where the teachers were, Zuko stopped on his walk and looked over his shoulder to see his partner who was a few meters away from him. The young Avatar climbed the slope slowly, but at the same time trying to be careful not to extinguish the flame in his hand, just as Zuko was looking at him from afar with anxiety and concern as if he feared that Aang might fall to the ground unconscious in any moment.

"Hurry up" Zuko said a bit impatient, trying not to show Aang that he was partly caring about him.

"I can't if I go fast, my fire will go out" the young airbender replied.

“Your fire is going to go out because you are making it small, you have to give it more juice.”

“But what if I can't bend it?”

“You can do it! you are a talented child after all.”

Aang blushed slightly, he could not believe Zuko thought something like that of him. After a long walk, they reached a high platform where they would meet Masters Ran and Shaw, he turned his golden gaze to see the Avatar who seemed nervous and Zuko could not help but have the urge to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be okay but if he did it, he would risk losing his flame and they did not get that far for nothing.

“You must consider that the judgment of the masters is going to be dangerous” the Sun Warrios chief said “if they consider you worthy, they will teach you, but if not, they will not hesitate to destroy both of you instantly”

They both begin to climb up the stone stairs that led them to a platform in the middle of two caves.

“Zuko” Aang spoke calling the firebender attention “what will happen if they attack us?”

"We’re the Fire Nation prince and the Avatar, I can always protect you" Zuko said smiling, but his smile quickly faded as he felt his heart stop for a brief second at these words, why had he said that?

“Haha, you're so funny” the young airbender, pulling the firebender out of his thoughts “I did not know you were smiling”

“What are you talking about? I smile all the time.”

“No, you don't, but you have to do it more often. It looks... nice on you” when they reached the cave, drums began to beat, they were instructed to show their flames and both benders (air and fire) did. A trembling shook the floor and everything around them, making Aang got nervous, he jumped a bit and on impulse he took Zuko's free hand to hold him tight. Before that sudden action, accidentally his flame goes out “Zuko, my flame went out!”

"And what do you want me to do?" the firebender asked turning his gaze towards the boy.

“Give me some of yours!” Aang said who turned around and approached him trying to reach the flame, but what he did not notice is that his body was quite close to Zuko's, which made the firebender blush slightly at the sudden contact.

“No! that would be cheating” Zuko replied trying to push the young airbender away, but between the fight (and his attempts to push Aang away from him) Zuko's flame also went out. At that moment, two dragons, one red and a blue one, came out of the caves, making the situation worse, the firebender stepped back and pressed Aang's hand hard against his own. The young boy turned his gray gaze to Zuko, looked at their hands holded firmly together and looked up at him again.

“Do you think we still have a chance to kill them?”

“Shh... I never said that!”

But the dragons never attacked them, they were just flying around them chasing each other and that was the moment Aang and Zuko released their hands and stood there, waiting for the dragons next move, almost as if it were...

“Zuko... I think we should dance with them.”

The ex prince turned his gaze at Aang and looked back at the dragons.

“A-are you sure?”

“We're supposed to do something. Let's try.”

Zuko agreed, they did not lose anything by trying. They turned their backs to start with the first position, copying the dragon dance they saw in the stone statues the day before, they performed the movements according to the dance, almost doing it at the same time as if they were in synchrony, doing this, Aang recalled that time when they both join in the sun dance in the Fire Days festival, only that at that time they were masked and did not recognize each other, but now they could perform a dance freely without the need to wear masks or because they were join in some Fire Nation festival.

The red dragon seemed to follow Zuko's movements while the blue dragon followed Aang's, once again he had to admit that the Avatar was right, he had a special ability to be right in everything he said. They finished the sequence by clashing their fists firmly against each other, Zuko smiled at Aang, who take back the gesture, but the ex prince realized that the atmosphere became silent and the wind was no longer running. The dragons were suspended in the air, staring at them, the moment of judgment had finally arrived, they jumped forward holding the platform with their claws and opened their mouths expelling a wave of fire at the same time, Zuko and Aang covered their eyes in an attempt to protect themselves, but the fire never reached them, so they uncovered their eyes and could see the dragons fire twirling around them, enveloping them in a protective wave of colorful fire, the colors were many and they were beautiful, revealing the true and harmonious way of doing firebending. Both benders were amazed by the beauty of that wave of colored fire that enveloped them without hurting them, at that moment, Zuko came out of his trance as he felt two small hands gently grasp his face and before he could say anything, Aang pulled him back towards him and kissed him. The Fire Nation ex prince could not understand why he had done that, but he take it in and take back the young Avatar's kiss, although it did not last long as Aang pulled away after a few seconds with a slight blush on his face.

The ritual concluded and the dragons returned to their caves, Aang and Zuko began to go down completely excited by what they had just seen.

"That was incredible!" Aang exclaimed who could not contain his excitement anymore.

"I know!" Zuko said who could not contain his emotion either "you know? All this time I was obsessed with capturing you to defeat my father and when I did it, I lost my firebending... but now I think I have found a new fire”

"Really?" Aang asked with his eyes full of illusion.

“Yes and...” the firebender said, he put a hand on the boy's shoulder and placed it on it “that fire is you”

“Z-zuko... I...” the young man speaks a little nervous “I don't know what to say...”

_Zuko? Zuko… hey, Zuko!_

Zuko reacted by realizing that he was lost in his own thoughts and did not pay attention to what Aang was telling him.

"Huh?" He looked at the child in front of him "I'm sorry, Aang, I was distracted, what did you say?"

“I said that what happened up there was incredible” the young Avatar replied “I could feel and see the true meaning of firebending, what did you feel when you saw the swirl of fire that surrounded us?”

“Uh... I... I'm also a bit surprised by what I saw” Zuko said a little nervous “but... there’s something I don't understand” Aang looked at him with a slight expression of shock “and that was the fact that I was surprised when you took my hand what happened? were you scared?”

“W-what?! n-no, of course not” the Avatar replied trying to hide the fact that yes, he had been terribly scared when a roar echoed in the cave making the platform shake “I was... at that moment I was nervous and I took your hand because I wanted to calm down and it worked”

“Okay, because I also felt calm and relaxed when I took your hand. I can’t doubt that the dragons fire was beautiful, and I also saw many colors.”

"Yeah, it was like firebending harmony" Aang said supporting his comment.

“I see that the masters judged you well” Sun Warriors chief said standing in front of them “and gave them visions about the meaning of firebending” Zuko and Aang looked at each other with an excited smile on their faces. They tried some firebending techniques with good results and commented about these, the Sun Warriors chief felt a little proud of them and turned his gaze towards Zuko “prince of the Fire Nation” the teenager stopped talking to Aang and looked at him “do you know General Iroh?”

"Yes, he’s my uncle" the teenager replied the. The Sun Warriors chief smiled at his answer.

“Your uncle was the last one to learn from the teachers and was well judged.”

“But he had told me that he faced the last dragon a long time ago and killed it.”

"Maybe he just lied" Aang guessed.

"Actually, that's not a lie" the Sun Warriors chief said “Iroh was the last one to learn from the masters. They considered him worthy and passed on their secrets”

“He must have lied to protect them, so that no one else would find them.”

"All this time, I believed that firebending was nothing more than destruction" Aang said, remembering the moment when he accidentally injured Katara trying to learn to control that element and what Jeong Jeong had told him when he wanted to learn firebending with him “since I hurt Katara I had so much fear and doubts, but now I know what it really is, fire is not destruction, it is… energy and life”

“Yes, it's like the sun but inside of you” Zuko commented with a slight smile “do you realize that?”

"Well, our civilization is called the Sun Warriors, so yes" the chief of that hidden civilization replied.

"That's why my firebending was so weak before" Zuko muttered, his gaze shifted to Aang "because for a while I was so obsessed with capturing you to defeat my father and when I joined you I lost my inner fire. But now I have a new inner fire”

“Really?” the young airbender asked looking at him with a smile drawn on his face “and what is it?”

_“That inner fire is you”_ Zuko thought but quickly erased that thought, he was never going to admit something like that, less aloud, it would be too embarrassing “and that inner fire is that I have to help you defeat my father and restore the balance of the world”

“Now that you have learned the secrets and know the existence of our tribe, we have no choice but to imprison you here forever” the Sun Warriors chief said frowning, Aang and Zuko were a bit scared at the idea, but they reassured as soon as that man changed his expression and smiled “just kidding. But I'm serious, don't tell anyone”

Both benders (fire and air) nodded at his warning, maybe they could share their experience to their friends when returning to the temple and to no one else, after all they trusted them so there was no danger of taking any risk by revealing the technique they had recently acquired.

Upon they arrive to the Western Air Temple, after the intense experience they had acquired, Zuko and Aang show the others the firebending movements they learned on their journey to the Sun Warriors civilization.

"With the technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be invincible" Aang explained, of course, they had to do a firebending demonstration to show them what they had learned. Zuko wanted to avoid repeating the dragon dance, but the young airbender insisted and at the end of the dance their fists collided, earning a few applauses.

“Wow, yeah, amazing. So, we are going to perform a dance to defeat the Fire Lord?” Sokka asked between scorn and sarcasm, something that annoyed Zuko a bit.

"It’s a technique from thousands of years" the firebender defended himself.

“Oh yeah? And what is your technique called?” Katara asked with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"The dancing dragon" Zuko replied, looking down slightly embarrassed. The other members of the Avatar team could not help but laugh at such an embarrassing response.

The next day, Zuko and Aang got up early so they could start their firebending practice, they did not stop until Katara came looking for them to have lunch with the rest of the team or to take a little break. They continued practicing until the sun went down, which slowly gave way to night, and they were finally able to relax a bit by sitting on the ground with their backs leaning against a stone column that lay right behind them.

"How was that?" Aang asked to his firebending teacher as they sat next to each other "how did I do it?"

"Your firebending is quite excellent, Aang and you're learning too fast" Zuko said.

“Really?”

“Of course. Your firebending grows stronger and stronger with every second, I must admit I'm impressed.”

“Thank you, Zuko” Aang thanked him while smiling, Zuko take back the smile and after a few seconds without speaking, the young Avatar spoke again “if you don't mind, I think I could meditate a bit before sleeping, do you want to join me?”

“Why not? although I’m not familiar with meditation.”

“Come closer, let me show you. Sit here with your legs crossed, now put your arms like this” he said placing his hands on his knees “clear everything from your mind except what you are going to meditate on” Zuko nodded and cleared his mind, a little undecided on what to meditate on, But before he could decide, an image of the boy next to him was the last to appear in his mind. He concentrated on that, it brought him warmth and peace, he didn't quite understand why, but that feeling pleased him. They both sat in silence for several minutes, Zuko began to move out of control, reached out and wrapped it around Aang's waist, pulling him towards him. At first, the young Avatar did not react, but as soon as Zuko began to caress the sides of his waist, he opened his eyes coming out of his state of meditation and turned his gaze towards the firebender “Zuko, are you okay?”

“What? huh? oh... sorry, I don't know what happened to me.”

“I think it was enough meditation for now.”

"Yeah sure" Zuko said with a sigh. They both got up from the ground, walked back to their rooms and prepared to go to sleep. Aang fell asleep early, but Zuko lay awake in his bed for several hours, unable to sleep, thinking about what he had done to the boy while they were meditating but he finally managed to fall asleep at around four in the morning.


	15. Chapter XIV: The Boiling Rock

It was a quiet night in the Western Air Temple, the group was sitting in a circle around a small fire in the fountain hall and Zuko was serving a freshly brewed tea to his new friends.

"No one can make tea like uncle, but hopefully I learned a thing or two" Zuko said as he served the tea to the group"would you like to hear my uncle's favorite joke?"

"Sure" Katara agreed.

"I like jokes" Aang answered supporting his friend.

“Go ahead!” Toph said insistently.

“Well, I can’t remember how it starts, but punch line is ‘Leaf me alone, I’m bushed’ " the group looked at him for a moment in silence, nobody found the joke funny because Zuko only remembered punch line “well, it's more funnier when my uncle tells it”

"Maybe that’s because he remembers the whole joke" Katara said making the other members of the group snickered and laughed.

"It's nice to have a chance to relax a little" Toph commented.

"It hardly ever happens" Zuko said as he handed Teo and the earthbender a cup of tea, he approached to Sokka who was drawing in the dust of the ground with a sad look on his face.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" the Southern Water Tribe boy asked. Zuko nodded and put down the tray as they walked over to where Appa was lying.

"So, what’s up?" Zuko asked sternly “who was captured?"

“When the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were taken. I just wanna know where they might be.”

“I cannot tell you.”

“Huh?! why not?”

"Trust me, knowing it would just make you feel worse" the firebender said as he turned around.

“It’s my dad” Sokka said, taking Zuko's shoulder “he was captured too, I need to know what I put him through”

“It's not good, Sokka.”

“Please.”

“My guess is they were taken to the Boiling Rock.”

"What is that?" the Southern Water Tribe boy asked with a cold look on his face.

“The higest security prison in the Fire Nation. It’s on an island in the middle of a boiling lake, it’s inescapable.”

“Then where is this place?”

“Why do you need to know? what are you planning?”

“Nothing... boy, you're so paranoid.”

“It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the Fire Nation. You guys actually right past it on your way here.”

“Thank you, Zuko” Sokka thanked him and yawned tiredly “just knowing makes me feel better”

"Yes, I'm sure it does" Zuko said, suspecting why Sokka would ask him something like that just like that, but how the latter insisted that he was not up to anything, he downplayed it and they returned to where the others were.

* * *

Assuming everyone else was asleep, Sokka crept his way over to Appa in the middle of the night, he cleared his sleeping area, and when he turned around... his foot narrowly missed Momo, he turned to Appa, shushing him when he stirred as he moved and climbed way up into the saddle.

"Not up to anything, huh?" Zuko said sitting in the saddle, Sokka fell off Appa to the stone floor, his bag emptiying out onto the floor.

"Fine, you caught me" he said as he gathered his things "I'm going to rescue my dad, ya happy now?"

"I'm never happy" Zuko said coldly, then jumped down from the saddle.

“Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was _my_ idea, it was _my_ decision to stay when things were going wrong” Sokka explained feeling upset because thanks to this ‘great’ idea of the invasion his father and many other members of the invading forces ended up being captured and taken prisoners by the Fire Nation “it's my job to fix it, I have to regain my honor and you can't stop me, Zuko”

“Do you need to regain your honor? believe me, I get it, I'll go with you.”

“No, I have to do this alone.”

“How are you going to get there? on Appa? Last time I checked; prisons don't have bisons day cares” Zuko told him. Sokka sighed and looked over his shoulder “we'll take my war balloon”

Sokka jumped off Appa and followed Zuko into the woods where he kept his war balloon hidden.

The next morning, the Duke walked over Appa with an armful of hay, he sat it down and the flying bison eagerly devoured the hay. The group walked over to Momo, noticing a sheet of paper under his arm, Katara picked it up.

"What does it say?" Toph asked to the waterbender.

“Need meat” she read turning the paper from one side to the other, trying to read Sokka's writing “gone fishing, we'll be back in a few days, Sokka and Zuko. One more thing: Aang, practice your firebending while I'm gone, do twenty sets of fire fists and ten hot squats every time you hear a badger-toad croak, Zuko”

Much to the Avatar's annoyance, the room echoed with a loud _'ribbit!'_ indicating that it had to begin its assigned task. Aang sighed and got up from his sleeping bag.

"No one else has tasks to do!" the young Avatar complained about his bad luck, he walked two by two to a small mat “one hot squat! two hot squats! three hot squats! four...”

After Aang finished doing his firebending exercises, he decided to lay down for a nap. An hour passed and Katara walked into the bedroom, she walked over to Aang and shook him slightly to wake him up.

“Aang, wake up. We need to talk.”

“Huh?” he woke up slowly when he heard the waterbender voice “yes, alright”

"Let's go to the fountain, it's hot out and I need to use a cool dip" Katara suggested, both walked towards the fountain, the waterbender took off her dress along with her blue pants and boots, changing them for her white swimsuit. Aang took off his robe and boots, leaving only his pants.

_“She’s still looks dazzling...”_ the young Avatar thought as he looked at the silhouette of his friend and he was right, even in her white swimsuit, Katara looked prettier than usual “so what do you want to talk about?” he asked once they plunged into the cold water.

“About you and Zuko. Aang, I realized that you've been spending too much time together and that worries me. What's going on between you two?”

Aang froze at his friend's question, he did not know what to told her, for a second the idea of having been discovered crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it, because it was impossible for Katara to discover his... well, whatever he and Zuko had, she could not know it, could she?

“Well, it's hard for me to say this but, you’re spending time together because of the firebending lessons and also because he’s my firebending teacher, also I want to get along with him, you know, to get to know each other better? waiting for the waterbender to believe his answer.

“Oh, it's fine. I agree with that, it's just that I realized that you have spent a lot of time with Zuko recently” Katara said “and it's something that worries me because I don't want you to end up hurt”

“You don't have to worry, Katara. It's kind of you to worry about me, but you must believe me that Zuko has changed and that he has no intention of hurting me” Aang replied “at least not for now...”

“Uh? what do you mean?”

“Nothing important.”

"So Aang... do you want to have a friendly waterbending battle with me?" Katara asked him once they finished talking about him and Zuko.

“Sure!”

Both get up from the water, took offensive positions and looked at each other to see who was taking the first step. Aang saw Katara start to move, she created a large stream of water that she shot straight at him, but he pulled away, grabbing it with his hands and counterattacking with it. Thinking quickly, the waterbender vaporized the water, invading the entire hall with steam.

"You're thinking like a true master now, Aang" she commented, throwing jets and whips of water at him, each of her attacks were being deflected or stopped by the young Avatar. Katara stopped and Aang took this opportunity to make his move, he created a small stream of water, took a step towards the waterbender and wrapped the current around her leg, lifting her upside down in the air in front of him with his waterbending.

"I told you I could…" his voice cut short as Katara reacted quickly, froze his feet in place, turned around behind Aang, grabbed his wrists and used ice to join hands immobilizing him.

"What did you say?" the waterbender asked as she stood behind him and smiled triumphantly, Aang smiled.

"Okay, you win" Aang said acknowledging his defeat, Katara undid the ice from his hands and feet and they looked at each other.

"Way to go, twinkletoes!" Toph commented, laughing at the way that fight ended "it only took a fourteen-year-old girl to whoop Avatar's butt! now do you want to know what it feels like to get it whooped by a twelve year old blind girl?”

* * *

Three days have passed since that friendly battle and there was no sign of Sokka or Zuko, the rest of the group did not seem to care but Aang, well, he was an apart case, he was starting to worry. It was late at night and he was pacing back and forth through his bedroom.

"It's been three whole days!" he exclaimed "I don't think it will take three days to catch some fish! Zuko needs to be here so he can teach me firebending! Sozin's comet is only a couple of weeks away and I need to know as much as I can before I face the Fire Lord, and the worst part is... NO ONE HERE SEEMS TO CARE!” Momo looked at Aang and cocked his head towards one side, folded his ears back and curled up to sleep “you're right, Momo. Maybe I'm just stressed out because I haven't slept at all since Zuko left” he lay back on the bed and looked at the ceiling _“I feel so lost and useless without him, I just wish he would come back soon...”_

“Aang! Aang!” Katara yelled pulling the young Avatar out of his thoughts, he got up from the bed to look at his friend “we have a problem”

They raced to the edge of the pagoda where the fountain corridor was, in front of them a huge Fire Nation airship was heading towards the temple, Aang took his glider and prepared to take off.

“Katara, stay here in case I can't stop it. You can hold off any of their attacks” Aang told her, Katara nodded and got into an offensive position, the airbender turner his gaze to Toph “Toph! you too be ready to attack” he took off and observed the massive aircraft, he was a bit surprised to find it unmanned on the outside, then he flew towards the control cabin and leaning out the window he could see... “Zuko!”

“Aang, don't attack! It's us!” the firebender yelled wanting to be heard above the wind, Aang flew back to the pagoda where Katara and Toph were waiting for him ready to fight.

“It's Zuko and Sokka! They're flying that thing!” Aang said, the airship docked on one of the temple platforms, a large door opened and Sokka and Zuko came out through it, Sokka was wearing a Fire Nation guard uniform (it wouldn't be the first time) and Zuko wore a shirt tied with a red rope around his waist loosely, as well as loose dark red pants.

"What are you doing in this thing?" Katara asked "what happened to the war balloon?"

"It kinda got destroyed" Zuko replied.

"That sounds like a crazy and frantic fishing trip!" Aang said with his eyes fixed on the clothing that the firebender was wearing.

“Did they at least get some good meat?” Toph asked.

“I did” Sokka replied “the best meat of all, the meat of friendship and fatherhood.”

The group turned their gaze towards the huge airship, Hakoda, Suki and Chit Sang walked out the ship and walked along the stone floor of the corridor.

"I'm new here, what's up everybody?" Chit Sang asked.

“Hi, Katara.”

"Dad!" Katara exclaimed with happy tears in her eyes and hugged him "what's going on? w-where did you go?”

"We went to a Fire Nation prison" Sokka said. Zuko stood up there smiling behind him, Hakoda took Sokka and Katara and hugged their children.

"Seriously guys, didn't you get any meat?" Toph asked.

After that small meeting, the group broke up to go to their respective bedrooms, some arranged sleeping bags in front of the fireplace and get ready themselves to sleep. Meanwhile, Aang approached to Zuko and took his hand.

"Zuko, can we talk?" the young Avatar asked.

"Sure" Zuko replied as he looked at Aang with a smile. They walked to the young boy's bedroom and once there, he closed the door behind them “so what do you want to talk about?”

"I was thinking about what we talked about when we went to the Sun Warriors civilization" Aang told him with a serious tone in his voice, something that made Zuko's smile fade in a matter of seconds.

"Look Aang, I know I was wrong, not once but many times, but I feel like now I need to be here for you, I want to be by your side, no matter what happens" Zuko apologized, but Aang interrupted him again.

“Zuko, stop” the young Avatar interrupted taking a deep breath “I don't want to hear another apology from you, I only brought you here because I thought about what we talked about when we were at the Sun Warriors civilization, in Ba Sing Se I thought you really wanted to join to us, to be part of our team and help us to stop the war, but I was wrong, you hurt me and now after what you've done, I could only see you as my firebending teacher, maybe as a friend but as...” he stopped because he still had no idea what they were “whatever we had, I don't think I can do it”

“Wait, Aang. Please, I know that I have hurt you, but I have changed and I really want to be with you" Zuko said kneeling and wrapping his arms tigthly around the airbender's legs "please, let me show you that I want to be by your side, what can I do?”

Aang was silent, his mind drifting into thoughts, wondering what Zuko could do to show him that he really wanted to be with him and to make the firebender sure he would never hurt him again.

“There’s something you can do” Aang said, Zuko raised his gaze to look the young Avatar better as he stood up from the bedroom door until his face was in front of Aang's, only a few inches apart “kiss me”

Without any hesitation, he kissed the boy's lips. Oh, that felt so good, he was beginning to miss the kid's lips after spending three whole days without him, Aang closed his eyes and take back the kiss with equal passion, the airbender clutched his hands to the firebender's red t-shirt while they Zuko's hands drew Aang closer to him, to the Fire Nation ex prince surprise, it was Aang who deepened the kiss, he felt the boy's tongue brush his lower lip and made way for him, their tongues intertwined and both moaned in pleasure. Zuko felt his body temperature rise and Aang could feel his tattoos glow from his growing emotional state.

When their kiss finally broke, both boys gasped looking at each other, their hearts were beating fast and their bodies were hot, that kiss felt really good and with it, Zuko's worries faded and Aang's doubts dissipated.

“Wow...”

“Yeah, wow...” Aang answered “so now we are okay with this?”

“If you say so... Trust me, Aang, I'll do anything it takes to make things right” Zuko said without leaving his gaze from Aang's.

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

After saying these words, Zuko cornered Aang against a wall causing the young boy to groan, but his moan was cut off when he felt the firebender kiss him again, Aang was surprised at first, he did not expect something like that from him, but he reciprocated his kiss .

“Zuko, I missed you so much. I was so worried about you” Aang said with his voice shaking, the firebender realized what the boy was saying.

“Why were you so worried? I thought you had believed that we were going fishing” Zuko asked, looking at him with a confused expression on his face.

“I knew you hadn't gone fishing when I saw that you didn't even bring any of the fishing tools” Aang said “and besides, Sokka would have taken Appa”

"I see you've been suspicious; I can't believe we've forgotten the fishing stuff!" Zuko said as he pulled away from the airbender and began to scold himself, Aang walked towards him, took Zuko's hands and pulled him closer for another kiss.

"If there's one thing I missed more than seeing you, it was your kisses" Aang said.

Katara walked down the corridor where the rooms were being lit by a candle, verifying that everyone and everyone were resting, she would go to their respective room after finishing their homework; However, fate made her change her plans when, in the middle of the trip, being more specific, she stopped at the door of Aang's room and could hear noises coming from inside. A deep, husky voice muttered something that was muffled by the door so Katara couldn't hear it, but she knew perfectly well who the owner of that voice was: Zuko. But... what was he doing in Aang's bedroom? It was not unusual for her to see how much time they spent together and how close they had become, but on the other hand, the waterbender did not want to accept or believe that the firebender had changed, yet for some strange reason, Aang believed him and even trusted him, that didn't surprise her, Aang trusted everyone. Katara could hear Zuko whisper something to Aang and the young airbender giggled, but his laughter was interrupted once she heard the noise of something hitting the nearest wall followed by a gasp.

_“What did that firebender jerk do to Aang?”_ Katara thought with a slight frown and a suspicious look on her face _“I knew it! I knew I shouldn't trust him!”_

Quickly and without even thinking twice, the waterbender slightly opened the room door, barely showing her face and was surprised with what she saw: Aang was cornered between one of the walls of the room and Zuko, who had an arm on one side of his head and his chest pressed against the young airbender one. He whispered something so low that Katara couldn't even hear it, Aang smiled and placed one arm over Zuko's waist and the other around his neck, bringing her face close so that her bright gray eyes looked directly at the golden orbs. Then the firebender did something that really surprised Katara, slowly leaned in and lightly brushed his lips against Aang's.

“Hey, don't tease me” Aang complained, his eyes were narrowed, and he knotted his hands in Zuko's hair. The firebender smiled slightly before he bends down and again joined his lips with Aang ones in a new kiss.

Katara pulled away and covered her mouth with her free hand as tears moistened her blue eyes, she felt a whirl of emotions form inside her, she wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to pull her hair tightly, but she couldn't do it. She just... she could not... was unable to process what she had seen, Aang and Zuko... together? it was something to not believe, he always believed that Aang had a crush on her, why?... how could this happen?

After seeing what she had just seen, the waterbender realized that she could not stay there for another minute. She walked away from the room unobserved, somewhat illogical because everyone was sleeping, well, everyone except Aang and Zuko, who (from her point of view) seemed to be too "comfortable" with each other and walked to her room in a trance.

She tried to fall asleep lying on her bed looking at the window, sitting on it but nothing happened.

_“For some reason, it hurts me to know that Aang chose Zuko instead of me”_ Katara thought still sitting on her bed, her mind recalled the scene when she discovered them making out a few hours ago _“but... it was logical that something like this was going to happen, I mean, Aang and Zuko have been spending a lot of time together and I see them too close, almost as if they were lifelong friends, but… if that were true, Aang would not have kissed me on the day of the invasion. I will have to talk to him and clarify my doubts”_

After thinking about this decision for a while and preparing to ask Aang what she planned to ask him, Katara finally felt tired and her eyes were beginning to close so she went back to her bed and tried to get some sleep. The waterbender woke up shortly before the sun appeared, no one else had woken up yet, she went to the hall where the fountain was and began to prepare breakfast for everyone, she did it in the most calm way possible so the rest of the Avatar team won't wake up. She began to cook robotically, automatically, without any effort on her part as if she were doing everything in a structured way.

On the other side, Zuko woke up as soon as the rays of the sun appeared in the sky and slightly illuminated the room, he looked down and smiled when he found Aang sleeping on his chest, he was so adorable, he had completely forgotten that the kid was still there with him. He didn't want to wake Aang up, so the firebender stood there looking at him sleep and thinking about everything they had been through so they could finally be together, he could continue like this all day if it was not for Aang starting to wake up. Realizing this, he looked away and blushed at the thought that perhaps the airbender realized he was watching him, they had both spent very little time sleeping after their make-out session, they had spent most of the night awake talking about their past, neither of them was sure at first whether to give up or give themselves to the other, Zuko because of his pride and Aang because of his duties as the Avatar.

The young boy began to wake up, rubbed his eyes to clear his vision and looked up only to meet Zuko... red as an apple.

“Z-Zuko?! now what happen to you? do you have a fever?” the airbender asked shamelessly receiving an angry look from Zuko, how dare that kid receive him that way when he woke up?

“What do you think? I expected a ‘good morning’ at least!” Zuko scolded him, fading his blush instantly.

"Good morning, sorry, Sifu Hotman" he apologized with a smile on his face.

“Good morning to you too, Aang” Zuko said smiling, he stretched and got out of bed “I'll go see if breakfast is ready”

“Okay.”

Zuko smiled one last time before leaving the room and walking towards the room where the fountain was. Aang took a little longer to get out of bed, but after a few seconds, he got up and went to the fountain room where the firebender was waiting for him for breakfast and then they would begin their firebending training.

Katara had already finished preparing breakfast and was now looking for the bowls to serve the food, when she noticed that Zuko was walking towards the same place where she was but he was not alone, Aang joined him a few minutes later, both of them blushed guiltily like if they had done some kind of mischief. Once again, the scene of the two of them kissing invaded Katara's mind but she decided to downplay it and started serving them food.

“Good morning, guys” Katara greeted them trying to act as normal as possible “breakfast is ready, eat before it gets cold”

"Good morning to you too, Katara" Aang greeted her but he could notice that something was wrong with her "uh are you okay?"

"Yes, of course I'm fine, why do you ask?" the waterbender asked as she passed a bowl to Zuko and then to her friend, the airbender.

"Because you look tired and you have dark circles around your eyes" the young boy said while pointing to his own eyes.

“Oh, I think I didn't realize it before and maybe I didn't sleep well last night, that's all.”

"Okay" Aang replied, for a few minutes neither of them spokes again and after the airbender finished his breakfast he spoke again "Katara, um, Zuko and I are going to start our firebending practice."

“Oh, okay but could you stay here just a moment? I need to talk to you alone for a minute” Katara asked as kindly as possible.

"Sure" Aang replied, he turned his gaze at Zuko "you can go to the training place, I'll catch up with you later."

"Well, I'll wait for you there then" Zuko left the room and Aang looked at his friend with concern.

“Katara, I saw that you're not okay. I want to know what's going on with you” Aang said approaching to her while placing a hand on her shoulder trying to calm her down.

“Don't play fool with me, Aang. Because I already know everything.”

“What are you talking about?”

"You and Zuko! I saw you guys having a make-out session last night!" Katara exclaimed angrily "how could you do this to me, Aang? all this time I thought you were in love with me, but you preferred to choose Zuko instead of me”

"And for what reason should that bother you? what's wrong with me preferring to be with Zuko and not with you? also, if that's all you wanted to tell me, then you better not talk to me, I have to start firebending training and I don't want to be late.”

The young airbender turned on his steps and started to walk away from the room where the fountain was to meet Zuko at his training place, but Katara grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"To me, Aang, he is the reason why I think everyone who is from the Fire Nation is evil and untrustworthy" Katara said to the airbender in front of her.

“Zuko is not responsible for your mother's death, someone else killed her and you know it.”

“Of course I know, it's just that my hatred towards the Fire Nation is so strong and I still can't believe that Zuko joined our team after the betrayal he did to his uncle and us in Ba Sing Se and I can not believe that now you are… how to say it? his boyfriend. Seriously, I can't accept that he has changed for the better.”

“People change, he’s good now, you have to believe me, and you must believe him.”

“Yes, I have seen him because he agreed to be your firebending teacher so that you can face his father, but...”

"No, Katara, it's more than that! I know well that he is a good person because... well, because I love him” Aang told her, Katara was about to say something but the airbender interrupted her “I can love him and I do, he showed me more love during these months than you you've never given to me!” Katara looked at him as she covered her mouth in surprise and tears began to form in her blue eyes. What was he talking about? that meant he and Zuko… were lovers before he decided to join on their team? Aang realized that he had hurt his friend and tried to comfort her “sorry, Katara. I didn't mean it, it's just that...”

"No, it's okay, Aang" Katara replied indifferently "you were right all this time, my past left me emotional scars and I don't think I'm capable of loving someone in the same way that you do. Furthermore, Aunt Wu predicted that one day I will meet a powerful bender and marry him”

“I'm sure you will find someone who makes you happy” Aang said “what about Haru? he is a great earthbender, he needs to improve his skills, but he could become a very powerful bender one day”

“Maybe you're right about that” the waterbender said feeling better with her friend's words “it's fine, I let you go to train with Zuko now, I won't stop you anymore. Don’t you want to make him wait too long, do you?”Aang thanked her and ran off to the training point where Zuko was waiting for him to begin his firebending practice. Katara smiled and shook her head slightly before resuming her task of serving breakfast to the rest of the team, but, suddenly, she stopped when she saw some black dots approaching where she was “oh no...” she murmured, the bowl fell from his hand and crashed to the ground breaking into pieces, what he most feared came true: the Fire Nation war globes had found them and are now preparing to attack the Western Air Temple. She turned her gaze to the other bedrooms in the temple and ran to wake the others and tell them what he had seen.


	16. Chapter XV: The southern raiders

Several Fire Nation airships led by Azula, emerged from the fog and began to throw bombs at the temple. Aang closed the large temple doors to protect the others and Zuko pushed Katara out of the way just as some rocks fell, landing where she had previously been in the process; instead of thanking him, she demands him to step aside. Toph and Haru created a tunnel into the wall with their earthbending so that everyone could escape safely, Aang was trying to lead Appa into the tunnel, but stopped when he saw Zuko walk away, looking at the airships and starting to walk towards the gates.

"Wait, guys!" Aang told them and he walked towards the firebender "Zuko! what are you doing? we have to go now!”

“Go ahead, I'll distract them” Zuko said looking at Aang “I have a feeling it's a family visit”

“ZUKO NO!” the airbender cried going after him but Sokka and Katara stopped him “let me go, he can't go to fight them alone!”

"Let's go, we have to get out of here" Sokka said worried about the movements that were taking place on the ground. The three began to tug on Appa's reins as Aang watched the firebender disappear into the rubble, knowing in advance what was about to happen, Zuko reached the edge of the platform.

"What are you doing here?" the firebender asked to the sinister princess.

"Doesn't that seem obvious to you?" Azula asked, looking at the fleet of aircrafts and then at her brother with a wicked smile "I'm about to celebrate that soon I will be an only child!"

After saying that, the Fire Nation princess fired a blast of blue fire directly from his feet, Zuko tried to protect himself but failed in the attempt, the ground below him began to shake and crack so he got up and jumped towards the airship to start another battle with her sister.

Although he was extremely worried about Zuko, Aang tried to get out of there somehow but Appa did not seem to want to cooperate.

"I can't get him there, Appa hates tunnels” even pulling the flying bison reins, they could not manage him to move.

"Aang, there’s no way to escape flying" Katara said as she held the reins with the help of her brother.

“We'll have to find a way.

“We need to break apart” Sokka sugested and managed to come up with a plan to save the others and themselves “go through the tunnel and get to the stolen aircraft”

"No" Katara said angrily "the Fire Nation will not separate our family again."

“I'll be fine. This won't last for long” Hakoda said placing his hands on her shoulders to calm her down, Katara accepted this and said goodbye to her father with a quick hug, the Southern Water Tribe chief also hugged his son who after that little farewell, he took Suki's hand and then, Aang, Katara, Toph, Sokka and Suki climbed on top of Appa. The earthbender placed her hand on one of the nearly fallen walls.

"I can clear this path so we can get out of here" Toph told them as she ran towards Appa, she used her earthbending to create a pillar that she leapt through and climbed up on the flying bison saddle next to Sokka.

"Um, I don't want to alarm you but, there's a lot of fire in that direction in general" Suki said, again all the foundations started shaking.

"We'll get through anyway, let's go" Aang told them.

As they flew, they saw Zuko come out of the fog on another aircraft, he jumped towards Azula's ship and they began to fight. Aang and the others barely managed to evade the Fire Nation soldiers attacks that were in the other airships, Zuko and Azula seemed to have a balanced battle but their close range firebending caused an explosion that pushed them both out of the airship, Aang guided Appa down and Katara managed to catch Zuko and then put him inside the saddle, saving his life. Azula, on the other hand, used her firebending to propel herself towards the cliff and slid to stop herself using her hairclip.

It was already dark, the Avatar team camped near an uninhabited beach to rest from the unexpected battle, with their tents already settled up, everyone sat around a campfire to have dinner.

“Wow, camping. Just like the old times, right?”Aang commented to his friends excitedly.

"If you really want it to feel like the old times, I could, uh…" Zuko said "chase after you for a while and try to capture you."

"You can chase me and capture me whenever you want, Zuko" Aang said jokingly as he winked at Zuko and hit him with his elbow, he blushed at the double meaning of that sentence, fortunately the rest of the team did not catch on. the hint and they laughed, except for Katara who frowned and looked a bit annoyed.

“Aw, Zuko” Sokka raised the glass he was holding “who would have thought that after all he did to try to capture us, today he would be our hero?”

Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them in toast, Aang gently tapped the firebender's shoulder and the two smiled at each other as they stared at each other.

"I'm moved, I don't deserve this" he said lowering his head.

"Yeah, don't even tell me" Katara said with a strange and annoyed face, she looked... jealous in sort way, she got up from the ground and left there, trampling the grass.

"What’s wrong with her?" Sokka asked.

"I'd like to know" Zuko said, he got up from the ground and went after the waterbender.

“I think that today I will dedicate time to think about myself” Sokka said a bit shy, he got up from the ground, walked away and Suki left with him, Aang looked at them walk away and lowered his head thinking that he was alone, well, not completely alone, Toph was still there with him.

"I thought the Avatar was not that easy to defeat" Toph said with her characteristic sour humor, Aang raised his head and looked at her.

"What do you mean?" Aang asked to the earthbender, she turned her head towards him as if she was really looking him at the eyes.

“You know? sometimes your feelings are hidden so badly that even a blind girl like me could perceive them.”

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Aang replied, sulking.

“Aang, one day you will have to talk about this accumulation of emotions that you have within you and when you feel ready, remember that I will be here to help you, I am all ears since my eyes don’t work” the earthbender said making a funny face, she got up from the grass and left the boy alone. Aang stayed up all night, he could hear his friends walking and talking to each other, he could also hear when Katara arrived at her tent, at which point he pretended to be sleeping on top of Appa's furry tail, for some reason Zuko came out of Sokka's tent and after this, the firebender sat on a rock in front of the waterbender's tent waiting for her to come out, a strange sensation ran through Aang's body, he had already seen and felt everything he could but...

_"What if he's trying to get closer to Katara? and if he doesn't love me anymore?_ ” Aang thought, after seeing what he had just seen for some strange reason, he felt a bitter taste flood his mouth along with the idea that Katara and Zuko might be together somehow, after everything they had been through, he could not bear to see the love of his life being in someone else arms. But from what he had seen, Zuko had been treating Katara as a friend and was desperate to gain her trust and acceptance, the young Avatar kept staring at the Fire Nation ex prince for a while longer until he fell asleep.

The next morning Aang got up trying not to be bothered by the fact that the others were still sleeping, Zuko was still outside waiting for Katara, then getting up, Aang was in charge of feeding Appa until Katara appeared interrupting his task and Zuko was behind him.

"I need you to lend me Appa" the waterbender said with a serious tone of voice and a frown.

“Why? Is it your turn to take a trip with Zuko?” Aang asked looking at her a little surprised.

“Yes, it is.”

“Oh, what's going on?” Aang asked, he had certain concerns and mixed emotions regarding what they were telling him, in part those feelings were jealousy.

"We will find the man who killed my mother" Katara replied.

“Sokka told me how it happened, I know who did it and where to find him” Zuko said, the tone in his voice was deeper and dense than normal, something that made the young Avatar think that it was another attempt to please Katara, the possibility made his heart shrink but, being as suspicious and confused as he was at the time, he tried to understand his friends.

_*Flashback*_

_Sokka was in tent, which had been luxuriously decorated with candles and roses waiting for Suki to show up for a romantic evening together, suddenly someone came up to the tent and opened it._

_"Well, hello" Sokka said thinking that it was the Kyoshi Warrior who was on the other side; however, the shame of seeing Zuko enter washed over him._

_"Uh... well, hello to you too, how are you?" Zuko asked without quite understanding what was going on there._

_*Flashback end*_

"Um, and you think exactly doing this is the best?" Aang asked trying to understand what Katara was referring to.

"I knew you wouldn't understand" the waterbender said with a sarcastic tone in her voice and she walked away from there.

“Wait, stop, I understand” the young Avatar stopping his friend “you feel an indescribable pain and anger, how do you think I felt when the desert bandits robbed Appa? how do you think I felt when I found out what the Fire Nation did to my people?”

"She needs this, Aang" Zuko said, looking away at him "this is about clause and justice."

“I don't think so, I think this is about getting revenge.”

“Well, maybe that's it, maybe that's what I need” Katara said angrily “maybe... that's what he deserves”

"You're talking like Jet. Katara, Zuko, these aren't..." Aang said looking disappointed.

“Is not the same! Jet attacked innocents, this man, he’s a monster, you don't understand, it's not the same Aang!” the waterbender yelled at him, her face showed disgust making Sokka feel bad, suddenly a very tense climate was established around them, if this continued like this, everyone would get hurt.

"Katara, she was my mother too... but I think Aang is right" Sokka said trying to smooth the conversation, but it did not seem to work.

"So, you didn't love her like I did?" Her voice was so harsh and dry that Aang took a step back, Sokka looked at the waterbender in the eyes and yelled her name in an attempt to bring her back to reality, but Katara just turned her back on him.

“The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed snake. As you watch your enemy die, you end up poisoning yourself” Aang said, he was not sure who had said that, but he felt like he was starting to be betrayed and that he was being left out of that conversation.

“That's nice, but this isn’t an Air Temple preschool. It's real life” Zuko said, Aang looked at the firebender and could notice a change in his eyes, he had hurt the boy, Zuko knew it and blamed himself, it was all his fault, only he knew how to hurt the airbender feelings, even when he was trying to help his friend just to win his acceptance and be able to spend more time with the young Avatar without having to think that they were going to kill or capture him. Aang tried to convince Katara to choose forgiveness over revenge only to ended up hearing her telling him that forgiving the man who killed her mother was impossible.

* * *

It was late at night, past midnight to be exact, Aang and Sokka were sitting in the shadows waiting for Zuko and Katara, Aang knew they would come, then he saw them, they were dressed in full black clothes with masks covering half over their mouthes, the young Avatar and the Southern Water Tribe warrior jumped over the rocks where they were hiding behind.

"So, are you were just gonna take Appa anyway?" Aang asked her.

"Yes" Katara replied sternly.

“That’s okay, because I forgive you... did that give you any ideas?”

“Don't try to stop us.”

“I wasn't planning to. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man” Aang told her, Katara nodded in reply with a severe and cold look on her face and then went up to Appa's head “but, when you do, please don't choose revenge, let out your anger, and let it go. Forgive him”

"Okay, we'll make sure to do that, guru goody-goody" Zuko said mockingly, Aang felt angry and sad when the firebender told him that, but he did not know why. Katara thanked him for his understanding and they immediately took flight.

“You know? you’re pretty wise for a kid” Sokka congratulated him.

“Thank you, Sokka.”

“Usually, it's annoying, but right now I'm just impressed.”

"I appreciate that" Aang said with a deadpan tone in his voice.

"So… can I borrow Momo for a week?" Sokka asked.

"Why do you need Momo?" Aang replied, the Southern Water Tribe boy shrugged and hummed in response.

“I don’t know? maybe I need some company.”

Aang sighed and went back to his tent, he sat down on his bed and got ready to sleep, he took off his pants and crawled under the blanket, closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but could not, his mind was racing. The only thing he could think of was Zuko's sarcastic comment that he still felt cold and angry, which only made him think that the firebender was trying to get rid of him and start showing interest in Katara.

“Ugh! I'm overrating about this! I don't need to worry about it” he told to himself “I don't need to worry about it!”

"Worry about what?" Sokka asked as he looked inside Aang's tent "glad to see you're still awake."

“Sokka, it's only been a few minutes since I went to bed. I don't fall asleep that fast” Aang told him.

“Listen, Aang… I need to talk to you.”

“Okay, what is that you want to talk about?”

“Do you remember that romantic evening I had planned with Suki? she never showed up, I think when Zuko came in, he ran into Suki, she got nervous and for that reason she just… didn't come.”

“Okay, it's not your fault. You just need to do something different with her, take her to the beach one night, look at the sunset or something, you could have dinner there and be alone somewhere where no one can disturb you, it would be perfect” Aang suggested.

“It sounds good... okay, could you help me with getting stuff ready for tomorrow?”

“Sure, no problem.”

"Thanks, Aang" Sokka was about to leave; however, something made him come back “what should you not worry about?”

“Zuko, he's been mocking what I said or ignoring me since he spoke to Katara. I don't know why he’s behaving that way, but...”

“Aang, I'm sure it's nothing. He's just trying get Katara to, well, forgive him. I bet he's just going along with Katara in whatever she wants to make her happy and that's why right now he was ignoring everything you said about forgiveness” Sokka replied to the young Avatar.

"That does sound like Zuko... how do you know so much about these things?" Aang asked to the Southern Water Tribe warrior.

“I know how a mind like Zuko's would work because it's not that different from mine.”

"What do you mean?" the airbender asked a little confused.

“I acted the same way when I met Suki on Kyoshi Island and then Princess Yue. I was stubborn and confused.”

"Well..." Aang smiled and then shrugged considering what his friend said was true “I guess I'm not the only one with annoying wisdom to offer” Sokka chuckled and left the tent, Aang he lay back on his bed, his mind was at peace now and he soon fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, Aang woke up to the scent of freshly cooked eggs and fish, the airbender hold his nose at the overwhelming scent _“great... meat”_ he thought.

Aang got dressed and walked out of his tent, he saw Suki coming out of her tent and Toph's rock tent fell with a mighty SLAM!

"Is that... *sniff* breakfast I smell?" Toph asked as she got up from the ground, she walked towards the fire where Sokka was cooking the eggs on a flat stone “I think they’re burned”

“What? no, is not that! I just put them... seriously why do you feel the need to do that?”

"No reason, actually, if I'm honest" the earthbender replied, Sokka looked at her with a frown and went back to concentrating on cooking, Suki approached to the campfire.

“Don't mind, Toph” Suki said “to me that looks delicious”

Sokka finished cooking, he put the eggs and fish on another flat stone and they started eating.

“Here, Aang. I know you don't eat meat, so I gathered some fruit” Sokka said as he approached his bag and lifted it off the ground, he put his hand inside it “why is this fruit so furry?” he rolled the bag and took out Momo who was happily munching on an apple “Momo! what are you doing in my bag?!” Momo looked at Sokka and chirped, the group just laughed and finished their breakfast, then Sokka looked at Aang who nodded, it was time to start with the surprise for Suki “it seems that we will need more firewood, Aang and I will go find more, we will be back soon”

They both went to the woods outside the camp.

"Well what do we need?" Aang asked him.

“I already got some fish and bought noodles in a nearby village. Now all we need is some wood for a small campfire, some fruit, and flowers.”

“Flowers?”

"Yeah, I wanted to give Suki some flowers and I thought we should have a picnic" Sokka suggested, the airbender did not hesitate and just laughed at what his friend said. They began to collect what they needed, they took everything to the beach and began to set the stage for the date, Aang used his earthbending to make a small table, they set the campfire and the food. When they finished doing all this, both walked back to the woods to collect more firewood to take to the camp, it was almost eleven o’clock by the time they returned.

"What took you so long?" Toph asked.

"We had trouble finding the, uh… right wood?" Sokka said trying to hide what they had actually been doing.

"The right wood?" Suki asked incredulously "okay what were you two doing? and I want to know the truth”

"Come with me and you'll know" Sokka said with a smile, Suki agreed and Aang looked at both of them walk to the beach where they had prepared everything for the date.

"I hope this helps you, Sokka" the young airbender thought.

"Where are you going now?" the earthbender asked. Aang waited until Sokka and Suki were out of his sight so he could talk to his friend.

"They are going to have a romantic lunch" he replied with a shrug, it was the only thing he could say and the only thing he could think of.

"Hmm, it sounds like they're going to have a good time" Toph commented in a monotonous voice.

"So what do you want to do now?" Aang asked him.

“I want to stretch my toes, but I don't think you want to be around to see that.”

“Ok then… I'll find something else to do… far away from here” the young Avatar replied, anyway, that was something he did not need to see closely. He walked to the beach and lay down on the sand, he was completely isolated and alone, surrounded by high cliffs and stones, he took off his robe along with his pants and lay in the sun, he closed his eyes to relax and began to think about Zuko he could not help but think of both of them having sex, he keep there, lost in his thoughts until he felt his underwear begin to become uncomfortable.

Aang took his underwear and slid it down, he looked closely at his dick and slowly began to stroke it, the touch was soft but pleasant, he clenched his jaw to stiffle a moan as soon as his hand touched the sensitive skin, feeling a delicious chill rise up his spine, he was so aroused that that simple touch was more than enough to leave him begging for more, so he began to rub his dick as he moved his hand more quickly, he arched his back at the feeling of indescribable relief, threw his head back and moaned softly. The young Avatar began to imagine Zuko sucking on his dick, then he began to stretch his narrow hole, he could feel the heat of his cum inside him as he thrusted him uncontrollably, he just could not stop himself, every time he felt his face burning with heat was more than sure he was about to cum; however, he paused for a moment, settled down and started again, prolonging his pleasure for much longer. The sexual heat was so thick, and his erection was so hard and needy that the tension started to hurt, he just wanted to feel good and his hand felt good, lately the urges were so strong that he could barely bear with them, the pleasure finally led him to his limit and the young boy cum, staining his chest and face while some drops of his scent fell slowly on his own hand.

Aang brought the warm, sticky substance to his mouth and licked it, pretending it was Zuko who gave it to him, after this, he cleaned himself up and started to dress, got up from the sand and looked up at the sky, the sun was almost setting on the horizon, he had spent most of his time on the beach but for him it had only been a couple of minutes. He looked up at the clouds for a moment, he saw something move and narrowed his eyes.

"Those are not…?" Aang jumped onto a tree and looked toward the horizon "Appa! they're back!” Appa landed near the tents settled up in the camp area “wow, that was a quick trip”

The airbender looked up to meet Zuko but he did not see Katara anywhere, so he began to worry fearing that something had happened to the waterbender, so as soon as Appa landed, Zuko jumped down and Aang ran towards him to ask what happened to the girl.

"I know what you're going to ask me" Zuko interrupted before he could even say anything "Katara is at my family's beach house on Ember Island, bring them all, we can stay there until the comet arrives."

Aang smiled and nodded, he went to look for Sokka and Suki, when he arrived at the dating place, he found them kissing in front of the fire so the young airbender coughed quietly to get their attention.

“Oh, Aang! what's the problem?” Sokka asked.

"Zuko has returned and we are staying at his beach house on Ember Island" the young airbender told him.

“Excellent!” the Southern Water Tribe warrior and Suki got up from the ground and walked back to the campsite, Sokka looked away to see Aang.

"So… how was it?" Aang asked.

“Great! we spent a lot of time together; I knew we were made for each other.”

“I'm glad to hear that.”

They both resumed their walk to the campsite, Sokka turned to check that no one was looking at them and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Thanks for your help, Aang" he said with a smile, Aang nodded in response.

They arrived at the campsite to find the others packing their stuff, so they both offered to help the rest of the Avatar team finish packing, load the supplies on Appa's saddle and they flew to Ember Island, Aang sat in front to Zuko who was indicating where they should go, the young airbender leaned against Zuko and looked at him, both knew what the other was thinking, they were happy to be together again, Aang knew that Zuko still loved him and all his worries about the firebender disappeared.

After flying for a few minutes, Appa landed on the sand, in front of the huge house.

It was late at night and Zuko was getting ready to sleep when Aang opened the bedroom door, the firebender did not notice it at first so he turned around to look at him.

“This used to be my bedroom when my family came here every summer. I played with my uncle and my cousin on the beach, everything was so calm back then...”

Aang looked at him and smiled, for a few seconds neither of them spokes until the young Avatar decided to speak to break the tension between them.

"Guru goody-goody?" Aang asked to the firebender after a long pause.

“Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I was just...”

"Following Katara to make her happy?" Aang interrupted.

"More like, to prevent me from throwing me off Appa in mid-flight but how did you know?" Zuko asked to the young airbender a bit confused.

“Lucky, I guess” Zuko smiled and sat on the bed, Aang came over and sat next to him “I think we should get ready to go to sleep” Aang started to take off his clothes, Zuko removed the blankets and also began to undress, they lay down next to each other. Zuko turned off the light on the lamp and approached to Aang “I missed you last night”

“I missed you too” Zuko said as he stared into the Avatar's gray eyes, he moved forward and kissed Aang for a long time, that was what he had missed, what he was needing, after pulling away from their kiss, Zuko laid his back against the pillow and the young Avatar nuzzled on his chest as he wrapped his arms around his waist, he could feel Zuko's racing heartbeat and his relaxed breathing, the firebender looked at Aang, he was already asleep, he continued stroking his back, tracing his fingers on the scar that the boy received when Azula attacked him with her lightning bolt, he did not want to think about that tragic moment in his life, he just stood there, stroking Aang's back until he was hit by dream and also fell asleep.


	17. Chapter XVI: Ember Island players [+18]

It was a new day at the Fire Lord's beach house, Aang and Zuko continued their firebending training while Katara and Toph (who were now wearing their stolen Fire Nation outfits) watched them. Both, airbender and firebender, were training for a long hour but, as always, it seemed that they would never tire of doing that, the connection between the two of them became stronger with each flame they launched and the harmony and synchrony were perfect, just as they had learned. The movements were fast and accurate, but at the same time they were performed with care and affection, anyone who stopped to observe them would be surprised at the harmony that those two shared, they fought almost as if they were dancing and looked at each other as if they were looking at the reflection of a mirror, it was one of the few moments where they could be themselves without risking fear of sharing that connection or of being discovered.

The training was tough and when they were given a chance to take a breath, they looked at each other and silently thanked each other with a small smile drawn on their faces.

"Isn't it weird that we're hiding at the Fire Lord's house?" Katara asked looking at Toph, who was lying on the cold stone floor, her blind eyes closed and both hands placed under her head.

“I told you that my father hasn’t come here since our family was actually happy” Zuko replied to the waterbender as he wiped the sweat with a towel “and that happened a long time ago, this would be the last place where he would look for us” he handed a glass of water to Aang who took it and drank the entire contents.

“You guys aren’t going to believe this. There is a play about us” Sokka said as soon as he and Suki walked into the house and walked towards their friends.

"We were in the village and we found this poster" Suki said enthusiastically showing the poster in Sokka's hand.

“What? how’s that possible?” Katara asked as she approached to appreciate that poster, as did Aang.

"Listen to this" Sokka said as he began to read “ ‘The Boy in the Iceberg’ is a new production by the acclaimed writer Puan Tin, who traveled around the world collecting information about the Avatar, from the frozen South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. Their sources include singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war and a well-known cabbage merchant.”

"Brought to you by the acclaimed Ember Island players" Suki continued reading, once they finished, Zuko let out a plaintive sigh.

"My mother used to take us to see them" Zuko said with a posture that denoted tiredness but really just wanted to express that he was bored “they butchered ‘Love Among Dragons’ every year”

"Sokka, do you think it's a good idea for us to attend a play about ourselves?" Katara asked as she turned her gaze to her brother and the Kyoshi Warrior next to him.

“Oh, come on, a day at the theater? it's the kind of nonsense I've been missing” Sokka insisted as he looked at the other group members with a huge smile.

The Avatar team could not resist the Southern Water Tribe warrior's insistence, so they went to the theater later that night. When they got there, they saw that there were many people ready to attend the show, Aang had to wear a hat on his head to hide his arrow tattoo and Zuko a dark cloak to hide the scar on his face, the firebender followed the group as they were climbing upstairs to a balcony that was unoccupied, they reached the balcony without many people looking closely at them, but Zuko had to adjust the hood of his cloak with the hope that no one wouldn't notice him, Katara looked at him as they moved towards the rows of seats the balcony was made of and she shook her head to indicate where he should sit… between her and Aang. Zuko felt a bit of anxiety bubble up inside him at the thought of sitting near the boy even for a few hours, but Aang, well, he was not on the same mind, he tried to sit next to Katara because he wanted to see the play with his friend, but Zuko got ahead and sat down first leaving the young Avatar a bit disappointed.

"Hey, uh… I wanted to sit there" Aang said disappointed.

“Just sit next to me. What's the deal?”

“But I just wanted… okay.”

Aang did not argue anymore and sat next to the firebender, Zuko, on the other hand, had to contain the urge to put his arm around Aang's shoulder like Sokka was doing with Suki.

"Why are we sitting in the nosebleeding section?" Toph said complaining about the choice of seats "my feet can't see anything from here."

"Don't worry, I'll tell your feet what's going on" Katara told her.

The lights went off and the play began with Sokka and Katara in a canoe, the real Sokka and Katara get excited to see this, the actress who plays Katara gives a long speech about hope while the actor who plays Sokka jokes about how hungry he is, much to the disappointment of the real Sokka and Katara. They find an iceberg with an Aang doll inside, the Katara actress uses her "waterbending" to release it, as soon as the real actor comes to the surface, Aang is surprised to see that a girl is playing him, the actors realize that Aang is the Avatar and by the way, Appa emerges from the iceberg designed similar to a Chinese dragon. The actress who plays Aang is unbearably cheerful and enthusiastic, plus she likes to play practical jokes on everyone by irritating the real Aang, much to Toph's amusement.

The next scene shows the Zuko and Iroh actors sailing in the ocean, the actor who plays Iroh is very short and fat, while the actor who plays Zuko has a scar mask on the wrong eye, Iroh actor suggests to Zuko that he eat some cake, but the latter says that he does not have time, that he must regain his honor by finding the Avatar.

"They made me totally rigid and humorless" Zuko commented a bit annoyed.

"Actually, I think that actor is quite successful" Katara joked.

“How can you say that?” the firebender asked still annoyed with the pathetic performance that the actor was doing about himself.

The play takes place summarizing in a very satirical way all the adventures that the Avatar team lived in Book One: Water, Aang finds Momo (portrayed by a sock puppet) in the South Air Temple, who when moving it tells the audience "Hi everyone! I love you!” Sokka actor dressed as a Kyoshi Warrior comes over and asks the actress who plays Suki if that dress makes his butt look fat which embarrasses the real Sokka and makes Suki laugh a bit. In the scene depicting the city of Omashu, King Bumi challenges Aang to save Katara and Sokka, and Katara actress faints from the pressure, in the next scene, the pirates are seen attacking Avatar team to recover the waterbending scroll.

"Why did you have to steal that waterbending scroll?" Sokka actor asked to Katara actress as he walked with chicken steps.

"It just gave me a lot of hope!" the woman exclaimed between sobs while holding a cardboard tube painted to look like the waterbending scroll, that comment only offended Katara a bit more.

Then the scene changed until the moment when Aang is captured and taken to Zhao's fortress as a prisoner, only instead of being Zhao who captured him, it was Zuko.

“The Avatar is mine!” the Zuko exclaimed actor raising his arms to the sky “wait who's there?”

“I am the Blue Spirit, the threat of the Fire Nation, I am here to rescue the Avatar” the Blue Spirit exclaimed as he appeared on scene to save a captured Aang, but not before having a small battle with actor Zuko who at being defeated, he runs out of there.

“My hero~!” Aang's actress exclaimed with a loving tone and jumps on his head to later leave the stage, this only made Aang and Zuko feel a bit uncomfortable while they looked away from the shame they felt at that time, please, did it look so obvious?

Jet destroys a village by summoning a flood just to please Katara, who is apparently madly in love with him.

Sokka and Princess Yue kissed at the North Pole and Sokka suspects that she ate pickled fish for dinner due to her bad breath. Yue says goodbye to him, since he has important "moon duties" to attend and ascends to heaven, confirming later that she did indeed eat pickled fish. This scene makes the real Sokka shed tears, Suki, on the other hand, couldn't believe that Sokka had kissed the Moon spirit.

Aang's actress, dressed in a blue koi fish suit, stomps and kicks some small models of Fire Nation ships that were moved by ropes on the wood floor while holding a Zhao doll in her hand and shaking it.

“The Avatar is back to save the day! yaaaay!” She yelled enthusiastically, as soon as the curtain fell concluding the first part of the play, the audience, including Toph, clapped and shouted euphoric, while the Avatar team grunted annoyed at the misinterpretation.

After seeing that painful part of the play, the Avatar team left for intermission, all disgusted and embarrassed by the way they were portrayed.

"So far, this intermission is the best part of the play" Sokka commented coming downstairs with a bag of jerky meat and took a seat next to Suki "the playwright thinks I'm an idiot who makes bad jokes about meat all the time."

“Yes, you make bad jokes but about many other topics” Suki said to the Southern Water Tribe warrior with a mocking smile.

“I know it!”

“At least Sokka's actor looks like you” Aang said trying to find a good side of the play when there was nothing good to highlight “the woman who played the Avatar is nothing like me”

“I don’t know. You're more in touch with your feminine side than most of the boys” Toph said with a shrug, Aang looked away a little flushed and had to admit that the earthbender was right in what she said.

“Relax, Aang. They aren’t accurate representations” Katara said trying to cheer him up “it's not like I'm a whiny preacher who can't help but giving exaggerated speeches about hope all the time” the waterbender kept silent when she saw that all her friends, including her brother, looked at her slightly surprised “what?”

"Yeah, that wasn't you at all" Aang said supporting his friend's comment as he sat back on the stairs.

“Listen friends, the playwright did his research. I know it hurts, but what you were seeing on stage is the truth” Toph said.

* * *

They returned to see the second act, it began with them trying to find an earthbending master for Aang, the real Toph realizes that this was the moment of her appearance and gets excited, the fake Toph appears as an extremely buffy man, which surprises everyone, although Zuko is a bit stunned by the appearance.

"Well, Toph, what you just heard is the truth. It hurts, doesn't it?” Katara said trying to make fun of the earthbender, but Toph instead of feeling hurt or embarrassed, was very satisfied with her interpretation.

“Are you kidding? I wouldn't have chosen it any other way” the earthbender exclaimed while laughing “at least he's not a flying and bald lady”

Instead of using his feet to see and feel the vibrations of the ground, Toph actor emits a sonic wave of screaming, quickly he gave a loud scream, stunning everyone in the audience, leaving them a bit shocked. Toph, however, wears a big smile showing how delighted she was with her character. The play continues showing Zuko and Iroh going separate ways because Iroh thinks his nephew's hair is "too long", later on, everyone can be seen cornering princess Azula who escapes hopefully by tricking Zuko and the others to look at the sky.

“What's that?” Azula actress said while pointing to the sky “I think that's your honor!”

“She escaped! but how?” Katara actress exclaimed as she looked at the audience.

In the next scene, Azula and Aang fight over a drill, causing the audience to fall asleep with boredom. After the play shows Jet being hypnotized to attack Aang by the Earth King but is crushed by a paper mache rock, the real Zuko is shown a little shocked by the revelation.

"Jet had already died?" Zuko asked Sokka sitting behind him.

"Meh, we'll never know that" Sokka replied nonchalantly.

The next scene of the play shows Zuko and Katara imprisoned in the crystal catacombs, Katara's actress begins to flirt with Zuko's actor, making their respective counterparts feel a bit uncomfortable since that is not how it happened and this forces them to move away a bit. Aang could not resist any longer and left the theater, although he believed the words of the firebender, he was not able to accept that this did not happen in fact, they only mentioned the fact that Katara was the "Avatar girl" and that Zuko did not care and that he was not interested in Aang at least, it could be a performance but the pain he felt inside him was very real. After everyone left the theater, the group sat in one of the corridors to rest from the nightmare and wait for the intermission to finish, Sokka and Suki were arguing while Zuko was sitting on the floor.

"Did any of you see Aang?" Zuko asked from his spot on the ground.

"He went out to brought me some snacks ten minutes ago and I'm still waiting" Sokka replied rolling his eyes in impatience and boredom, Zuko turned his gaze to Katara.

"Don't worry, I'll check outside" the waterbender told him.

“No, let me go. Something tells me that I’ve the blame for all this” Zuko said, he got up from the ground and went after the boy. As soon as he got to the porch, he found Aang upset by what happened in the play, leaning against the porch looking at the sea “hey, it’s everything okay?”

"No, it's not okay" Aang said as he looked into the firebender's eyes "I hated that scene" he took his hat off his head and threw it hard on the floor.

"I know it sounds horrible, but I think you're overrating" Zuko said trying to calm the boy.

“Overrating?” the young Avatar turned to look at him “if my chakra weren’t blocked, I'd probably be in the Avatar state”

He was clearly upset and Zuko took notice of it, but trying to keep cool, he walked over to the boy and stood next to him, leaning his chest against the porch railing.

“I know you're upset, but also am I, I understand you.”

"Why are you so upset?" Aang asked, staring at him.

“For me, they’re showing all the mistakes of my life and they throw them in my face” Zuko replied lowering his gaze, he looked at the moonlighted beach, which was shining in the night sky “my uncle... he was always by my side, even when things were bad, he was always there for me, he taught me many things and how did I thank him?” the firebender raised his gaze “stabbing a dagger into his back, that was my biggest mistake and it’s possible that never can redeem myself”

They both looked back at the waves of the sea, everything seemed so calm and peaceful, but their hearts were heavy and aching.

“Zuko... let me ask you something, was what you said there true?”

“Where? what are you talking about?”

“On the stage, I heard that actor of yours say that I did not mean anything to you and that you don't feel the same way about me” Aang looked at him again, they were both face to face.

"I never said that it was that actor who said it" Zuko replied, now he understood the boy's annoyance.

“But it's true, isn't it? I mean, you and I hugged and kissed on the invasion and I thought that after that everything would be fine between us and we would be together. Especially when you betrayed your family, your nation and joined our team” the young Avatar said, the expression on his face was becoming more and more sad “but that did not happen, we aren’t together... at least not of the way I want”

"What are you talking about?" Zuko said without understanding what Aang was saying, the boy lowered his head again, clenching his fists tightly, looked at the firebender and hugged him tightly.

“I love you, Zuko. I love you so much that I can't let you go, no matter how hard I try” Aang said as he hid his face in the firebender's chest “and I want us to be together but not only as friends, but also as… as boyfriends”

Zuko did not speak, he only still silent receiving the young airbender's hug, then he reacted and take back the hug wrapping his arms around the boy's waist tightly in an attempt to keep him close to him as long as possible.

“You know that no one has suspected us” Zuko said while comforting the kid “there are people who worried about you and take care of you, even Katara has done everything possible for us to be together, in short, you know exactly how I feel about you, I already told you that I…” he stopped for a second thinking about what he was going to say next and finally found the right words “that I like you, but I think now is not the time to start a relationship, we are in a war and when you face my father I don't want you to stay by my side or wonder if I'm okay, but, since I'm okay now, there must always be a promise involved”

"Can you promise me that you won't die in the war? or that if I die you will be happy with someone else?” Aang asked, jealousy and fear of losing him were stronger than ever.

“No” Zuko said, something that made the young boy frown but the firebender laughed at his irritation “I can't promise you that because... when the war is over, and if you win, I want you to be by my side as my friend, my boyfriend or... my husband, honestly I don't care”

The young Avatar's gray eyes widened and sparkled, if he had chosen Katara to stay by his side, he knew that something like that would never happen, but with Zuko it was different, he felt that he was the right person for him.

“Prince Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai married to the Avatar?” Aang said, he could not believe it, if someone else heard that, they would think the idea sounded crazy but it was the kind of madness that only Aang would love to commit .

“I know it sounds crazy and that it would be a scandal, but I love being the center of attention” Zuko replied as he winked at Aang, he could see a blush appear on his cheeks “but, of course, only if you accept my proposal” he approached and closed the distance kissing the little monk, it was a sweet and slightly wet kiss, when they pulled away he saw Aang's face completely dyed red “well, I'm going in, see you inside. I'm glad we settled things between us”

And so, Zuko turned his back on him and left, feeling his own face heat up and turn red.

“I'm a passionate idiot” Aang said, he picked up his hat from the floor and put it on his head, went back to the theater and sat next to Zuko, Katara had left and now she was sitting next to Sokka and Suki, the whole group he had went back inside to see this nightmare that seemed to have no end.

* * *

"Man, that play was awful!" Sokka complained once they left the theater. Everyone had left from there with a bad taste in their mouths, at the end the play turned out to be nothing more than a great parody of all their mistakes and by the last act, the final battle against Fire Lord Ozai had gone wrong, all their plans had failed, Zuko died dueling his sister, Aang died facing Ozai and the Fire Nation won the war.

"All their plays are like this" Zuko replied as he made his way up the steep path that led to the beach house, Aang walking close to him looking at the ground.

The group entered inside the house making noise and went to their respective bedrooms, Aang followed Zuko without taking his eyes off the floor and paying no attention to where he was, at that, Zuko stopped abruptly.

"Oof!" Aang gasped when he bumped into Zuko and fell back to the ground "what not...?” when he saw that they were home, he stopped, he had no idea where he was until that moment.

"Are you okay, Aang?" Zuko asked "you looked quite distracted since we left the theater."

“Me? distracted? no, I'm okay! seriously!” the airbender replied, but the look on the firebender's face showed him that he did not believe anything he said “who am I kidding? no, I'm not okay… at least not quite”

“What is the…?”

“What if I can't do it?” the young Avatar interrupted him “the fate of the world falls on my shoulders, but I don't know if I can do this”

“Aang.”

“What if I'm not powerful enough?”

“Aang, I...”

“And I'm not sure I can defeat the Fire Lord, much less take it away from him...”

"AANG, LISTEN TO ME!" Zuko shouted, shutting up the boy, sighed and fell on the bed, Zuko sat next to him with his arm around Aang's shoulders “you need to relax, the more you worry, the less confidence you will have. You can’t give up to go into despair, you must have hope” Aang looked at Zuko with tears in his eyes and collapsed on the firebender, holding his robe tightly, Zuko was startled at first, but slowly began to stroke Aang's back and then wrapped her arms around him. After a few minutes, Aang managed to calm down “everything will be fine” the young boy’s face raised to look into his eyes “you don't have to do this alone, you have me, Katara, Sokka, Toph and Suki to help you. You don't have to do this alone”

Zuko felt a bit foolish for being so… feminine, but he knew that would help Aang and he knew that what he was saying was true.

"Thank you, Zuko" Aang said as he smiled shyly and wrapped his arms around the firebender's waist, Zuko smiled and placed his hand on Aang's back, as he separated, he helped him stand up.

“We need to go to bed, we have a lot of training to do tomorrow and we must get up at dawn” Aang nodded and got up, he took off his black robe but kept a pair of light pants on, it was usually cold even if it was a summer night. Zuko also took off his robe and felt the cold air hit his chest “it's going to be very hot tomorrow”

Aang nodded not wanting to have a conversation, he was tired, and his body was shaking. Zuko removed the blankets and then they both got on the bed, turned off the lamp and lay down staring at the roof, he wanted to sleep but could not do it, his gaze focused on Aang who, in turn, turned to look at him, they looked at each other and laughed, Zuko put his hand on Aang's chest and caressed it gently, occasionally kneading the soft skin with his knuckles, Aang accepted that warm hand touch him, his muscles relaxed and he soon fell fast asleep; however, Zuko stayed awake for another agonizing hour.

_Aang has to defeat my father, he has to, or this world will no longer exist..._

With that last thought in mind, Zuko allowed himself to be carried away by the light, warm embrace of sleep.

* * *

The first rays of the morning sun began to appear through the bedroom window, illuminating it with its soft golden light. Zuko felt the intense heat and immediately woke up, he sat up and turned his gaze at Aang who showed no signs of life except for the constant rises and falls of his chest when he was breathing, the firebender jumped down from the bed and put on a light robe knowing that the heat of that day would be unbearable, he approached the place where the young Avatar slept and gently shook him, Aang snuggled against the pillow, Zuko shook him again and this time, the boy pulled his hands away and covered his head with the pillow. Zuko was about to force him to get out of bed but he had a better idea, he left the bedroom and entered on the living room, there he found Sokka sitting in front of the fireplace and Katara was resting on the sofa.

"Katara, can you come here for a second?" the waterbender glanced at Sokka who shrugged, but followed Zuko into the kitchen anyway, where he grabbed a jug of water and then they walked down the corridor to his bedroom door “Aang refuses to wake up” he whispered “so when I remove the pillow you...”

“Should I throw the water jug at him?” she finished the sentence with a wicked smile, Zuko nodded and they entered the room, the firebender was standing behind Aang ready to take the pillow from his hands, he raised three fingers and started a count silent regressive, three... two... one... Zuko removed the pillow from Aang's hands and stepped out of the way as Katara threw the water on the kid, the cold water wetted his face and part of his chest.

“AAH! WHAT'S WRONG?” Aang looked around only to find Zuko doubled over in laughter and Katara standing next to him hugging herself in an effort to ease the pain in her ribs from laughing, the airbender sighed heavily “okay, that's it. well. I'm already awake, now what?”

“Now...” Zuko said while his stomach let out a loud growl “now let's have breakfast”

Aang got out of bed, wiped the water off his body, dressed, and followed Zuko and Katara into the kitchen.

After having breakfast with the rest of Avatar, both of them (firebender and airbender) left the house to continue their training, but Katara remembered something important that she had to ask the firebender, so she went outside and went to find them.

“Zuko, I need to ask you something” the waterbender called him while Zuko and Aang stopped walking to start their training, he turned to look at her “where’s the nearest market to get supplies?”

“The only one I know is on Pyrus Island. There’s a ferry on the west side of the island that can take you there, it’s quite a long journey. If you leave now, you can take the ferry and come back tomorrow morning” Zuko told her.

“Great! thanks, Zuko! do you guys need anything?” She asked, knowing they were not coming back until tomorrow morning.

"Meat, please" Zuko said with a pleading tone in his voice. Katara nodded and walked back into the house to look for her brother, Suki and Toph, Aang and Zuko resumed their training, doing firebending practices for a couple of hours until they decided to stop and get back into the house, the heat was unbearable “it's so hot outside!” slowly, the firebender leaned back on the cold ground. Both he and Aang were drenched in sweat “what can we do to cool off?”

They immediately had an idea of what they could do to remove the heat from their bodies, they looked at each other and smiled.

"THE BEACH!" both shouted enthusiastically, they changed their clothes into bathing suits, grabbed a couple of towels and ran as fast as they could towards the beach. Zuko threw down the towels and they both ran into the ocean, Aang got into the deep waters and dove until he disappeared from the surface, the water was cold and nice, Zuko was floating just below the surface, realizing that Aang was missing, desperate he began to look for him, but all he saw around him was water and the waves that were beating violently against his torso. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Aang appeared behind him and threw him into the air, the young Avatar surfaced to see Zuko fall into the water with a powerful ‘splash’, he swam towards the firebender while laughing.

"That was from the rude awakening this morning!" Aang said with a laugh, Zuko smiled and brushed his wet, tangled hair from his face.

“Hey, Aang. There's a small island not far from here, I used to swim around when I was a kid, it's perfectly secluded” Zuko told him, Aang smiled at him.

“The last to arrive there is a rotten skunk fish!” Aang yelled as he swam away from there.

"But you don't even know where it is!" Zuko yelled after him, he sighed and started swimming following him. He finally caught up and they headed to the island.

Aang looked at the small island, through the small thicket of palm trees and vegetation, he could see on the other side was the opposite side of the island.

"This is a really small island" Aang commented as he sat down on the sand.

"Yes, but the good thing here is that no one can see us" Zuko said as he smiled and laid his tired body on the sand.

"So... we are just you and me here right?" the young Avatar asked with a smile.

Unexpectedly, Aang sat on Zuko's legs, placed his hands on his chest and massaged the wet skin, the firebender sighed feeling a chill run through his body, his cock throbbed with anticipation and Aang felt his pants begin to be annoying, Zuko took Aang around his waist with both arms pulled him towards him only to kiss him tenderly and (as the seconds passed) passionately, Aang's lips parted and the firebender's tongue quickly entered into his mouth, running through the young Avatar's mouth, soon their tongues began to intertwine, play with each other and saliva dripped from the corners of Aang's lower lip, the younger boy gasped and groaned, he leaned against Zuko's chest without breaking the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Aang's body while his leg lightly brushed his crotch causing the young Avatar to let out a deep groan, something that made the firebender smile, but then he get up. Zuko sat on top of Aang, kissing him fiercely, they parted only for a moment gasping for air, then, Aang wrapped his arms around the firebender's neck running his fingers through his hair and pulled him close to give him a fiery kiss. The young Avatar continued running his hands through the firebender's hair and then they descended down his back, moved Zuko up, making him sit up slightly, he ran his hands through his dark red pants and slowly took them off exposing his cock, Aang wrapped his hand around Zuko's erection, lowered his head and placed his lips on the tip, pressing them gently against it, the firebender moaned as his penis slipped into the younger boy hot and wet mouth, causing the Airbender sucked faster and harder, Zuko lowered his gaze again to look at his eyes, he could see that a slight blush had appeared on Aang's face, he looked so adorable.

"Aang... please don't stop" Zuko begged between moans, Aang just nodded and began to suck quickly and rhythmically, enjoying Zuko's moans of pleasure. The firebender rammed his member deep inside his throat, then pulled it out and repeated his thrusts over and over again, tightly holding the back of the boy's head thrusting inside of his mouth with more strength and depth, then after a couple of thrusts, Zuko gave a loud guttural moan and came into his mouth. Aang swallowed all the cum he could, he had never imagined that the semen could be so delicious, Zuko's was sweet but also a bit sour, after swallowing all the cum he could, Aang lay down on the soft sand, looked at Zuko with eyes that seemed to beg him to shove his cock inside him. The firebender could not believe what he was seeing, Aang was on his knees and offered his ass to be fucked, he must have been dreaming, yes, it was just that, a dream, but... if it was a dream, then he never wanted to wake up again and if it was really a dream, then he had to take advantage of it before he woke up. Zuko leaned over and took off the young Avatar's pants, he knew well what Aang wanted but also he wanted to prolong his pleasure as long as possible, so the firebender leaned over, took Aang's dick and introduced it into his mouth beginning to move his head up and down licking from side to side, the airbender (already excited by having to stimulate his lover’s cock) was overwhelmed by the sensations he was experiencing and soon he came inside Zuko’s mouth, who swallowed his scent with pleasure and then joined his lips with the boy's ones in a rough kiss, Aang was already tired after the intense orgasm he had just had but he knew that this was not over yet “get on your knees, Aang. I want to try something different” Aang obeyed and leaned on his hands and knees in front of his lover, Zuko took his erection positioning it against the young boy asshole and pressed the tip into his narrow passage “are you ready for this?”

Aang nodded and relaxed to get used to the intromision, once he saw that he was used to it enough, Zuko introduced his cock completely inside him, then slowly removed it and repeated this action several times.

"Oh… Z-Zuko… f-faster, please…" Aang said, moaning in pure pleasure as he felt his virginity beign taken from him. Zuko accelerated his thrusts, reaching a specific point within the younger boy, Aang's inner walls were pressed around his cock creating a delicious friction, Zuko brought one hand to the airbender's shoulder while the other traced his own path towards his erection and began to rub it and pull it as his thrusts became faster and more accurate. Aang's moans flooded his ears as he growled and gasped, the pleasure increased more and more inside their bodies, Zuko accelerated his thrusts feeling the boy skin crash against his thighs. After some more intense thrusts, they moaned loudly reached their limit, Zuko came inside Aang filling him with his scent and Aang came staining his lover's hand, after a few minutes trying to calm their breaths, the firebender pulled his cock from Aang's hole and they went to rest under the shade of the palm trees “oh... Zuko... that was incredible” he managed to tell him, Zuko looked at him and smiled, the airbender leaned against his chest and he leaned against a palm tree, caressing the boy’s chest “I love you” Zuko did not answer, he simply leaned down and kissed the head of his love and continued caressing his chest, in a matter of minutes, Aang fell asleep. The afternoon fell slowly on that small island, the waves moved more calmly than in the morning, the sun was hiding behind the sea reflecting its golden rays in the water, Aang and Zuko were sleeping comfortably against a palm tree, hugging each other. They would have stayed in that position for a few more minutes, but Zuko woke up at some point in the afternoon, he looked down at his lover who was holding him tightly, completely naked.

"Aang" Zuko whispered softly into his lover's ear as he slowly stroked his chest, Aang just smiled and moved. The firebender loved to feel his soft skin, he looked down noticing that the boy was already aroused, he smiled to himself, Aang shifted instead, looked at Zuko half asleep and then at his erection. Zuko did not know why, but he had no doubt that he wanted to please the airbender, so without thinking, he reached his hand towards Aang's dick and began to stroke it slowly, he sat down to rest his back better against the palm tree, one arm was wrapped around Aang's waist and the other was stroking his dick. Aang let out a soft moan, for some reason, his body flanked at the sensation, although it had stopped being new and different for a while, his legs slowly traced furrows in the sand. Suddenly, his body tensed and he could feel Zuko stroking his erection faster and stronger, the airbender arched his back, pressing his head against his lover's chest and his feet buried under the sand, he moaned and sighed as Zuko continued rubbing his erection.

“Zuko! more please!” Aang exclaimed between groans, knowing that his request would not be denied. The young Avatar wanted to cum and he wanted to do it now, but he also wanted those sensations to last a little longer, Zuko moved one of his hands towards Aang's mouth and slowly inserted his index finger, he took his hand and began to suck the digit, his body tensed again, his back arched and his breathing became heavy. Zuko's hand moved rapidly up and down his dick. Aang had never done something like this, least of all at such a fast pace, his body tensed again, but instead of arching his back, he came and his cum dripped on him and Zuko on the face, the rest fell slowly on the firebender’s hand. Zuko licked his hand, he would never get tired of tasting Aang's cum, the airbender got up and sat next to Zuko, staring into his eyes “what an amazing day. I will never forget it”

Zuko smiled and kissed him once more, this time it was sweet and tender. After pulling away, they turned and sat next to each other to look at the sunset, when sunlight began to fade, they dove into the cold water and swam back home. Once they reached the shore, they walked with exhausted steps towards the house and washed the salty water off their bodies, their bodies were sore and they needed to rest, so after washing they went to the bedroom, they get into bed and within minutes they were deeply asleep.


	18. Chapter XVII: Sozin’s comet, Phoenix King

Another day passed normally in the Fire Lord’s beach house, in three days Sozin's comet would arrive and with that the destiny and balance of the entire world would be automatically defined. Aang got up early to train like he did every day since the Avatar team arrived on Ember Island, when leaving, his friends were already waiting sitting on the stone stairs at the house porch and Zuko was waiting for him standing the two greeted each other, Aang was still embarrassed but Zuko was stiff and serious, he was more than ready to start another firebending training.

The training began and Aang was practicing his firebending while Zuko just stand there looking at him.

"More fiercely" Zuko said this time he was taking training too seriously. The airbender's expression was also stiff, as always, he took all training seriously “imagine yourself hitting the heart of your opponent”

"Agh" Aang growled in frustration and turned his tired gaze towards Zuko "I'm trying!"

“I want to hear you roar like a tigerdillo” Aang opened his arms and let out a timid roar and the fire barely sprouted from his hands, he turned his gaze at Zuko who was frowning and gave him a smile “that sounds pathetic, I said roar” he spoke wryly, he wanted to release the wild beast inside Aang.

"ROAR" Aang roared with strength and desire, huge waves of fire came out of his hands and mouth, a satisfied smile formed on Zuko's face until Katara appeared with watermelon juice for everyone.

“Who wants a glass of watermelon juice?” the waterbender asked as she raised two small watermelons offering to the rest of the group, this made Aang abandon the training to get a drink, but his body was obstructed by two arms that held him tightly. Zuko was holding him around the waist and although he made an effort get rid himself, Aang could not move.

“Hey, your training did not finished. Come back here” Zuko said discouraged and defeated, Aang stopped fighting to free himself from his grip.

“Relax, Zuko. Just take a break, what's the problem?” Suki asked, leaning on the stone stair next to Sokka, drinking some juice.

“Okay” Zuko let go of the young Avatar who even waited for his feet to touch the ground and started running towards the stairs, Katara handed him a juice, Aang sat down and started drinking “if you want to be lying there like a bunch of sloth snails then go ahead, do it”

“Zuko could be right. Sitting so long has made us lazy, but I know exactly what can fix that” the Southern Water Tribe boy said standing up, he took off his Water Tribe clothes revealing a swimsuit underneath “BEACH PARTY!”

And with that, another day of fun began in the life of the Avatar team, Sokka jumped into the water and began collecting seaweed, Katara used her waterbending to surf the waves, while Aang and Toph, who have managed to dominate sandbending, make sand sculptures. Sokka makes an awful sculpture of Suki, receiving mocking comments from Toph and Aang. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Zuko appears and fiercely attacks Aang, scaring everyone, he chases Aang off the beach and back to the house, Aang manages to reach the roof of the house and Zuko chases him, both stopped on face-to-face defense mode, keeping a safe distance so they won't get burned.

"Calm down before I decide to drop you out" Aang warned him, he was tired of this pursuit and senseless fighting.

"Go ahead, do it!" Zuko challenged him already wanting to start attacking him. Instead of doing that, Aang continued to run away, he could not bear the thought of having to hurt him to stop him, but it seemed like the firebender did not mind in the least bit attacking him physically and emotionally. Finally, the airbender managed to enter inside the house through an open window and hide behind a closet, his heart was racing and it was beating thousand per hour and the same was happening with his mind, what the hell was wrong with Zuko? he needed to know why he had turned against him so suddenly, yesterday they were spending an incredible time together and now... Zuko managed to enter through the bedroom roof and looked for Aang without leaving his defensive mode, the young Avatar got tired of this and threw the closet towards him, but managed to burn it easily.

"What’s your problem?" the airbender continued running through the house with his heart in his hand, everything seemed to move in slow motion around him; however, his movements seemed to be faster than normal. Zuko created a kind of fire twirl and threw towards at Aang, who, totally shocked and injured, could only think of using airbending around him and stopping that fire twirl “ENOUGH!”

Aang turned towards Zuko and pushed him with his airbending, he was so angry that at that moment he even considered that he could hurt the teen, it was only a matter of seconds to realize what he had done, he saw Zuko lying on the ground with his hands on his head and realized that he might have gone too far.

"What's wrong with you?" Katara asked angrily once she got there with the rest of the team behind her. Aang jumped from the balcony and approached to the firebender “you could have hurt Aang”

“What’s wrong with me? what's wrong with all of you?!” Zuko asked as he stood up from the ground angrily and turned to face them “how can you be so calm organizing a beach party when Sozin's comet will arrive in three days?” they looked at him in silence and with a sad expression, but the most affected was Aang, who looked embarrassed “why does everyone look at me as like I was crazy?”

“About Sozin's comet” Aang answered in a low voice and took a step forward “the truth is, I was thinking of waiting to fight the Fire Lord until after it arrived”

"After?!" Zuko said who was looking them as if now they were the ones who were crazy.

“I'm not ready” the young Avatar answered, he looked at his feet and then at the teenager in front of him “I need more time to master firebending”

"And honestly, your earthbending also needs to be polished as soon as possible" Toph suggested, Aang looked down with concern.

"So, did you already know that Aang was planning to wait for the comet to arrive?" Zuko asked who, apparently, was the only one out of that situation, too far out.

"If he faces the Fire Lord now, he will lose" Sokka said looking at Zuko in disbelief, Aang looked at him feeling disappointed in himself “no offense”

The young Avatar understood and Zuko could see how a tear ran down his cheek.

“The purpose of facing the Fire Lord before the comet was to prevent the Fire Nation from winning the war” Katara said as she approached and stood next to Aang, she took his hand to reassure him and continued speaking “but they won the war when the attack to Ba Sing Se happened, things can't get worse”

“You're wrong” Zuko said to the waterbender with a firm tone but inside he was hurt, Aang and Katara stared at him, those gray eyes were looking at him but now in a different way, the firebender turned his back on them “it's going to get worse more than you can imagine, the day before the eclipse, my father called me to an important war meeting”

_*Flashback*_

_Zuko walked towards the war chamber as some servants helped him put on his armor, once they were done, they stepped away from him to let him get inside the chamber. Inside it, he could see the generals at the meeting arguing that the rebellions in the Earth Kingdom should be stopped as soon as possible._

_“Prince Zuko, you have been among the Earth Kingdom commoners” Ozai spoke while looking at his son “do you think that sending more troops will stop these rebellions?”_

_"The people of the Earth Kingdom are strong, proud and able to resist anything while they still have hope" Zuko replied._

_“Yes, you're right” the Fire Lord agreed after hearing Zuko's words “we need to destroy that hope”_

_"Well that's not exactly what I…" Zuko wanted to say but he was interrupted by his sister._

_"We should take away their precious hope, their lands and burn everything from within" Princess Azula suggested._

_“Yes, yes, you’re right, Azula” Ozai said supporting his daughter idea, he got up from the pagoda where he was sitting and began to walk slowly making his way among the generals seated at the table where there was a map of the Earth Kingdom open in it “Sozin's comet is within our reach and that day will give us the strength and power of a hundred suns, no bender will have a chance against us”_

_"And what do you suggest we do, sir?" General Shinu asked._

_“When the comet arrived, my grandfather, the Fire Lord Sozin used it to eliminate the Air Nomads, now I will use its power to destroy the Earth Kingdom permanently” Ozai answered while smiling “from our airships fire will rain on the lands, a fire that will destroy everything in its path and from the ashes a new world will be born, a world in which all the lands belong to the Fire Nation and I will be the supreme ruler of everything!”_

_After that speech delivered by the Fire Lord, the generals applauded enthusiastically supporting the idea of their ruler, Zuko just stay in his place motionless not being able to believe what he was hearing._

_*Flashback end*_

"I can't believe it" the waterbender said who covered her face with one hand.

“I wanted to say something about this terrible plan, but I was embarrassed and did nothing. All my life I have fought to win the love and acceptance of my father, but when I received it, I realized that I was already lost, I had forgotten who I really was...” Zuko said, Katara fell to the ground unable to believe what was listening, Suki clung to Sokka and Aang… he only stood there.

"I always knew the Fire Lord was evil, but his plan is demonic" Sokka commented as he hugged the Kyoshi Warrior at his side.

"What am I going to do now?" Aang asked, realizing that his plan had been unraveled.

“I know you're scared and I know you're not ready to save the world yet” Zuko said as he approached to the young Avatar and placed his hands on his shoulders looking into his eyes “but if you don't defeat him before the comet arrives then, there will no longer be a world to save”

"Why didn't you tell me about your father's plan earlier?" Aang said as he turned his back on him and walked straight to the house.

“I didn't think I should. I assumed you would fight him before the comet arrived, no one told me you planned to wait” Zuko was on his defensive position, but a part of him was hurt by having to say these words.

“This is bad. This is so bad” Aang murmured who walked a few more steps, he knelt on the ground and put his hands to his head wanting to think.

“Aang” a voice called him, he looked back “you don't have to do this alone, we were both wrong in not telling each other anything, but we can still win this war”

Katara was standing behind him, the younger boy stood up and saw the rest of the group approaching, including Zuko.

“Yes! If we fight together against the Fire Lord, we will have a chance to defeat him!” Toph exclaimed with her characteristic excited tone in her voice.

“I agree! Avatar team is back!” Sokka exclaimed, his enthusiasm had gone back to him and he started pointing to his friends “Air, Water, Earth, Fire, Fan and Sword”

“Fighting the Fire Lord will be the most difficult thing we will do together” Aang said, his expression was closed and firm “but I would not do it otherwise”

He gave a smile to his friends who accepted him and went to hug him, except Zuko who only looked at the scene from a distance, Katara noticed and smiled at him friendly.

"Come her, Zuko" the waterbender called him.

“Being part of the group also means being part of the hug” the young Avatar said, although this action was against his will, Zuko approached his friends and joined the hug, managing to hold Aang's hand with his without let no one see it, Katara realized this but she did not speak, she just accepted it and smiled when she saw her friends together, but that did not mean that no one else felt the connection between them.

As soon as everyone broke away from the group hug, Toph approached to Aang and pulled him a few feet away from their friends so they could speak privately.

"Aang" Toph said a little more seriously this time "don't you think it's time to tell them...? you know. Also, you already realized what the lack of communication and trust between us can do” the airbender turned away from the earthbender, turned on his own steps, since he was without his robe on he could feel the tension in his shoulders, he knew exactly what Toph was referring to but he did not know if he could do it, he could not find the right words either and he did not know his Zuko would agree to this, especially after all the previous scene. Aang was so lost in thoughts that he did not hear his friends call him or ask him questions, he reacted when he felt a hand on his shoulder “I can feel him, it's okay to tell them, he agrees with that”

The young Avatar turned to his friends who were eagerly waiting his announcement.

“Okay… I like someone, well, not really, I love that person and it's been a while since then. I remember the first time we were alone and there was a kind of "connection" between us, I remember when we were fighting and we shared our first kiss, even if I asked you that time what you really wanted. I remember when we joined the sun dance, although we could not recognize each other because we wore masks, I remember when we were training and you did everything to get my attention I remember when I received a prophecy and I was sad because the fortuneteller did not tell me what I wanted, but today... I know exactly what she meant, I also remembered when we ended up caught in a trap and I knew that we would be fine, because you were there with me” Aang became serious and looked at the ground, in front of his friends who were in awe of the confession and Katara, unexpectedly, blushed more and more “I remember when we were in trouble and you showed me a sentimental side, saying and stating that you wanted to know and seek more information about the history of your people. And I definitely remember how jealous I got because I saw you being around someone else”

His eyes did not leave the ground for a minute, Katara was a little embarrassed to know who her friend was talking about, but she preferred not to speak and let the rest of the group take the surprise of their lives, Sokka stared at his sister a bit confused because from his point of view he did not remember any of the things that Aang was mentioning, Zuko was embarrassed and quiet in a corner with Toph by his side trying to hold back her laughter.

"Aang, I know it will sound obvious, but everyone know here that you are madly in love with Katara" Sokka said but Toph covered his mouth with her hand quickly.

"Don't interrupt and just listen, okay?" She said in a threatening tone as she removed her hand from his mouth, Aang turned around and Katara was as flushed as possible. Zuko just lowered his head, he expected this, he knew that no one would accept them.

“I'm sorry to disappoint you, but no, Sokka, it's not Katara” the young Avatar said and turned at the waterbender “she’s my friend and I love her, but not in that way, rather she’s like a sister to me... I'm sorry”

"It's okay, Aang" Katara said while hugging him "I just want you to be happy, I don't care who you choose to be with."

“But, if it's not my sister, then… who is it?” Sokka asked confused, Aang was nervous and began to move his hands quickly, but as soon as he looked at Zuko, he felt all his worries disappear, he relaxed again and lowered his gaze once more on the ground.

“I know you told me you didn't want anything until this war was over, but my biggest fear is going there, losing my own war... and losing you too. I was wondering, can't we be together while we still have time? because by the time we want to be together it will be too late” Aang said in a very low voice, almost in a whisper, but everyone was close enough to him to hear what he was saying.

“I don't think it's too late” a thick voice sounded behind him, everyone turned to see the person who owns that voice “I know you’re afraid but I trust you and I know that you will defeat my father. I know that you will end this war and you can have the life you always dreamed of” Zuko approached to Aang through all his friends “because I'm proud of you”

They looked at each other, Aang gave him an involuntary smile, walked over to Zuko and hugged him.

“WHAT?! ZUKO?! ARE YOU TALKING SERIOUSLY?!” Sokka exclaimed a bit shocked by his friend sudden confession but more surprised he was to know that the confession was directed to the firebender “but why him?”

"I know I'm not exactly the princess you imagined for the Avatar but I'm not that bad either, am I?" Zuko asked giving his friends a smile while putting a hand behind his neck as a sign of nervousness and discomfort.

“What are people going to say or think about this? nothing, after all they are the Avatar and the son of the Fire Lord'' Toph said as she blew a lock of hair from her forehead, everyone laughed at her comment, the tense atmosphere had dissipated after that, soon, everyone gathered in a new group hug, this time they included Zuko, after breaking away from the hug, the firebender looked at Aang.

“As you are afraid of war, you must promise me that you will not let the fact that you are literally going to fight against your father-in-law interfere in the battle” the airbender blushed and widened his eyes “Aang I really wish you had a last name for do this officially but, Avatar, the last airbender, you agreed to be mine no matter what, until the war is over and we can give a title to whatever we have” Zuko said pointing to both of them with his hand.

"I thought you would never ask me" Aang said, hugging Zuko and his friends cheered up and congratulated them as they broke apart, they looked into each other's eyes. Zuko apologized for the unexpected hug and stole a kiss from the Avatar, making everyone else feel a bit awkward and embarrassed except for Katara and Toph.

Later, in the house courtyard, Zuko decided to teach Aang the lightning redirection technique, the two of them were back at the training site, positioned, ready to begin this new lesson.

“There’s a technique that you should know before facing my father” Zuko told to Aang “how to redirect lightining” Aang smiled at the mention “if you let the energy flow in your own body and the lightining follows it, the energy will be will come back against your opponent "

“It's like waterbending”

“Exactly” Zuko moved slightly and was calm, soon Aang began to imitate his movements and listen well to his teacher “my uncle invented this technique by studying waterbending masters”

"So, have you ever redirected lightning before?" Aang asked, he was calm and curious.

“Once against my father.”

"What did it feel like?" the young Avatar asked.

“Exciting” Zuko replied, Aang smiled “but at the same time terrifying” his smile faded “you feel so powerful holding so much energy in your body but you know that if you make the wrong move... it's over”

“Well, not everything is over, I mean… we can always count with Katara's spirit water, can't we?”

"Actually, I used it all after Azula attacked you with her lightning" the waterbender replied who was sitting on the gallery stone stairs with Momo by her side, something that disappointed Aang a bit.

“You have to take the Fire Lord's life before he ends yours.”

“Yes, I will do it.”

The training continued steadily and seriously, until Sokka had the ‘great’ idea of putting them all in a simulated attack against the Fire Lord. The rest of the team, with the exception of Toph, who acted as the attack forces of "Melon Lord" creates a distraction so that Aang has free access to the final blow, during training everything was going well, until Aang refused to kill the "Lord Melon" saying that he was unable to take a life so Sokka had to finish doing the job for him and cut off "Melon Lord" head with his sword.

* * *

Night came and with it, Aang's thoughts, he did not feel Avatar enough, everyone said that he should kill the Fire Lord but the monks taught him that any kind of life had value, the airbender was sitting in a distant sector from the corner where her friends were all having dinner together and talking animatedly, until Katara appeared with a scroll and Toph made a joke that he did not pay much attention to.

"Well that sweet little baby grew up to be a monster, and the worst of all fathers in parenting history" Zuko said.

"But he's still a human being" Aang's voice came out thicker than planned but managed to call everyone's attention. He was still sitting in his corner away from others, staring at the wall, eating alone, but now there was the exception that his friends were listening to him.

“Are you planning to defend him?”

“No, I totally agree with you” he said more calmly, he was not against what Zuko said, that was true “the Fire Lord Ozai’s a horrible person and the world would be better without him but, there must be another solution”

“What type?”

"I don't know…" Aang hoped he could find an alternative solution to his problem of stopping the Fire Lord without having to kill him in the process. Although all his plans were foolish or did not seem to work, at least it showed that his intention was good “this goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just take the life of someone I don't like”

“Of course, you can. You’re the Avatar. If it's to keep the world in balance, I'm sure the universe will forgive you” Sokka said, but unfortunately, that was not a good time to make one of his bad jokes. Aang disagreed with the Southern Water Tribe warrior, he could not take a life and take everything he learned to discard it as if nothing mattered to him. The monks had a perfect life, there was no need to kill anyone, karma would see that the person suffered while attacking its victim, the anger inside Aang increased in his body, then spread and finally erupted.

"This is not a joke, Sokka! Nobody understands the position I am” he released, he would no longer bear the foolishness of others, from now on he would always follow his own truth.

"Aang, we understand you, it's just that…" Katara said trying to calm him down.

"WHAT, KATARA?" Aang asked him, the waterbender realized that she had no success trying to calm him down "what?!"

"We’re trying to help you" she said with the same tone of voice.

"So, when you find some way to defeat the Fire Lord without killing him, I'd love to hear that" Aang said, his voice becoming thicker and heavier, after saying that he stomped on the floor and walked away.

"Aang, don't run away from this conversation" the waterbender told him, she wanted to go after him, but someone stopped her.

"Let him go, he needs to figure this out himself" Zuko told her.

“Are you going to let him go? you?” Katara asked putting an expression of disbelief on her face.

“I know Aang, I know exactly how he feels and how he will deal with this” the firebender replied, Katara left and sat on the stone stairs again, Zuko turned his gaze towards the corridor where Aang had gone a moment ago.

A while had passed, everyone had already bathed and was getting ready to go to sleep, when Zuko walked back to the bedroom that he shared, he noticed that the door was open, he entered the room and found it empty, Aang still not He had returned. He walked slowly towards where the young Avatar was going and found him sitting on the porch of the beach house meditating, he was safe, that was what mattered now, Zuko returned to the house again and went to his room to sleep.

On the other hand, Aang was meditating on the porch of the beach house accompanied by Momo. Later, he and Momo fall asleep, and with the sudden appearance of a strange little island just offshore, Aang is unconsciously swept into it with Momo flying behind him.

* * *

The next morning, the other members of the Avatar team prepared to leave the beach house, when everything was ready, they heard Toph approach them.

“Where’s Aang?” the earthbender asked, everyone looked at each other in alarm, ran into the house, dispersed and searched all the rooms but no one found him when, Zuko remembered seeing Aang on the porch the night before and they all went there.

“He had left his glider” Sokka said as he watched Aang's glider “that's strange”

"Aang isn’t in the house, let's check the beach" Zuko said and took his friends to the beach where they continued their search, they searched the beach and found some footprints in the sand that led to the open ocean.

"So, he went swimming at midnight and never came back?" Katara wondered "he's probably been captured."

"I don't think so, there are no signs of fighting here" Sokka confirmed.

"I think he ran away again" Toph said.

“And he left his glider and Appa?”

"And what do you think happened to him then, detective?" the earthbender asked sarcastically.

“It's obvious, Aang mysteriously disappeared before a great battle. He's definitely on a spiritual journey” Sokka alerted them.

“Really? but if it were that his body would be here” Zuko said who was serious and at the same time worried.

"Okay, I forgot it" Sokka replied. So, the team decided to split up to search around Ember Island, during their search, Suki and Katara found a large crowd cheering for Aang, only to realize that they were referring to the actors from the play they went to see some days ago. Meanwhile, Toph tells Zuko the story of her life only for him to end up interrupting her, telling him that they should focus more on looking for Aang, causing Toph to classify that moment as the worst trip of her life. The search was useless and after a few hours, everyone went back to the house, as soon as Sokka landed with Appa, he saw Katara and Suki sitting at the bottom of the stairs, Toph was lying to the side and Zuko was a few inches behind, head down and with his hands gripping his hair, he looked disappointed “for your expressions, I can deduce that you didn't find Aang”

“No” Zuko said looking up, his voice was full of pain “he disappeared” his tone of voice lowered and his head too, he was sad and he missed the little monk.

“Hey, wait a minute” Toph stood up “did you notice that Momo had disappeared too?”

"Enough, we have a real problem here" the firebender said as he raised his head.

“No! I knew this was a matter of time!” Sokka exclaimed, he approached to Appa who was resting on the sand and looked under him “Appa ate Momo!” he had no better idea than to look for the little lemur inside the flying bison mouth “Momo, hold on. I'm coming for you, buddy!”

“Sokka, Appa didn't ate Momo. He's probably with Aang” Katara said a little tired of her brother's stupidity.

"That's just what Appa wants you to think" Sokka told her, without wasting any more time he got into the bison's mouth that closed it after the boy get inside.

“Stop it, Sokka. Get out of the bison’s mouth, we have a more serious problem to deal with” Zuko said “Aang seriously dissappeared... and the comet will arrive in two days”

"What should we do now, Zuko?" Katara asked hopefully, the firebender stood up.

"I don't know..." He looked at his friends sitting on the stairs, except for Sokka who was lying on the ground in a huge puddle of flying bison drool "why are you looking at me like that?"

“Well, you're kind of an expert at tracking Aang.”

“Yes. If anyone has experience chasing the Avatar, that's you” Toph agreed. Zuko looked at them seriously and then raised his gaze to the sky.

_“I promise no matter what happened, I'll find you.”_

* * *

Soon everyone was flying on top of Appa heading to the Earth Kingdom, while they were flying, Zuko revealed the reason why they were heading to the Earth Kingdom, the team needed to trust him because they were going to look for an old friend of his. After landing, the firebender led the group to a tavern where they found Jun, the bounty hunter who at one time helped him and his uncle find the Avatar when he was still the ambitious Fire Nation prince. And now, more than ever, he needed his help again but for another reason, besides finding the Avatar, he wanted to find his loved one.

“So, you brought us to the Earth Kingdom to go to a tavern? what's going on now?” Katara asked to the firebender.

“Jun” Zuko said pointing to the strange girl dressed in black with a snake tattoo on her right arm, who was leaning against a table with a glass in her hand, a man ran towards her with the intention of attacking her but she managed to immobilize him by applying a pressure on his neck with her legs without leaving her seat.

“Oh, I remember her. She's that strange bounty hunter with the giant mole” Sokka commented looking at her, Jun got up from her seat and started fighting with another man who had come over to fight her.

“Are you kidding? her skin is rather, perfect” Katara told him.

"No, she rides on that huge beast that looks like a mole" the Southern Water Tribe warrior told his sister.

“The shirshu” Zuko said while everyone looked at him “is the only animal that can find Aang anywhere in the world, it’s our only chance to locate him”

"I don't know who that Jun lady is, but I like her" Toph said, smiling after seeing that bounty hunter fight with that man. The group decided to approach the table where Jun was sitting.

“Great, how cool, the grumpy prince” the bounty hunter said, her voice was always extremely sarcastic, so you could not notice when she was serious or not “where's your creepy grandfather?”

"He's my uncle and he's not here" Zuko said, the girl turned her gaze to Katara, who was standing next to her.

"So, you made it up with your girlfriend?" Jun asked him, Katara blushed from embarrassment and Zuko looked away nervously.

"I'm not his girlfriend!" Katara exclaimed still embarrassed.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Zuko replied annoyed.

"I'm not surprised, maybe it's due to the fact that he likes…" Toph said with a clear double meaning and a lot of irony in her comment, but Sokka quickly covered her mouth before she dared to say something that made her screw up.

“It's okay! sheesh, I was just kidding” Jun replied as she raised a hand to calm them both “what do you want now?”

"I need your help to find the Avatar" the firebender said he looked serious and determined, if she refused to help him, then he would have no choice but to search for Aang on his own.

"That don’t sound funny" the woman said with an impressive sarcastic tone in her voice.

"Is the end of the world funny to you?!" four words were more than enough to make Zuko explode and apparently, that managed to convince the bounty hunter.

Outside, Appa and Nyla, Jun's Shirshu were growling angrily at each other, but Appa calmed down and licked the beast's snout, causing her to calm down as well and they became friends for a brief period of time until that they could both see Jun and the rest of Team Avatar walking towards them.

“Nyla” Jun called her offering her a piece of meat, she threw the meat to the animal who devoured it in a matter of seconds “who’s my little sniffly-waffly?” Nyla reacted a little badly to her mistress afection and took out her paralyzing tongue “hey watch out! well who has something with the Avatar scent?”

Katara handed the glider Aang had left when he disappeared from Ember Island to Jun, she held it up to her beast to sniff it, Nyla walked in circles around Avatar team for a few minutes and finally gave up.

"Well, what does that mean?" Zuko asked Jun.

"That means your friend is gone!" Jun replied as she stroked her beast's head tenderly.

"We know he left, that's why we're trying to find him" Zuko replied, who was already beginning to lose patience.

“No, I mean, he’s really gone. It just doesn't exist anymore.”

"Are you supposing that Aang died?" Sokka asked, he did not show any kind of sadness or happiness on his face, rather concern and anguish. Zuko felt a chill run down his spine at the possibility, he had just got Aang back and was not going to let him go again, he had already suffered too much when he thought that he had died with his sister's attack and he could not bear the idea of losing him again.

“No idiot. If he were dead, you could probably smell it, but when I say it no longer exists, it doesn't exist.”


	19. Chapter XVIII: Sozin’s comet [pt II: The Old Masters]

Elsewhere, far from where his friends were, Momo awakens Aang and he sees with great amazement that he is on a mysterious island in the middle of the sea. Everything around him moves strangely and the first thing that comes to mind was what happened the night before and the fight he had with his friends.

"Where are we, Momo?" Aang asked, the little lemur did not seem to hear him because he was very busy chasing a squirrel.

Upon deducing that they were not in the spirit world because he could still control the elements and Momo could see him, Aang ran to the highest point on the island to find out where he was. Everything was very confusing at the time and Aang could feel that he was about to have the greatest adventure of his life. Wandering around the island, the young Avatar soon found a large hexagonal symbol on the ground, seeing that he is not able to move it with his earthbending, he deduces that it is not made of stone or ordinary earth. Lost in thought, Aang decides to contact Avatar Roku, hoping he will tell him where he is.

_“You're right, Aang. All the past Avatars, all their experience and wisdom are available to you. If you look deep inside yourself”_ Avatar Roku told him once he appeared in front of him.

"So where am I, Roku?" Aang asked looking around the mysterious forest "what is this place?"

_“I don't know Aang. But I can see that you are lost in more ways than one right now.”_

“I am, I need to find out what I should do when I face the Fire Lord” Aang said, his voice sounded serious, his expression was serious and his face looked at the old Avatar “except that I don't want to end up killing the Fire Lord, I do not know if I can…”

Roku passed on his knowledge, discipline, and self-control but Aang stopped paying attention when he saw that in the end, Roku had the same opinion as the others, he should kill Fire Lord Ozai. When he finished passing on his learning, the spirit spoke again.

_“I offer you this wisdom, Aang”_ and after saying that Avatar Roku disappears.

Aang invoked Avatar Kyoshi for advice, she remembered her encounter with Chin the Conqueror, causing his death without realizing it. Aang reasons by saying that technically she did not kill Chin, but Kyoshi tells Aang that she does not see the difference and that without hesitation she would have killed him to keep balance in the world.

_“Only justice will bring peace”_ and after saying that, she disappears. Annoyed by her response, Aang wishes that he had never asked Avatar Kyoshi for advice, his hopes grew dimmer and he grew increasingly frustrated.

He spent another hour meditating and this time Avatar Kuruk appeared, he explained that during his time as Avatar he was a relaxed man and he let the four nations solve their problems by themselves; however, Koh, the face stealer, punished Kuruk for his laziness and took the face of his beloved, Ummi, to the spirit world. Kuruk regrets what happened to her and tells Aang that he must actively shape his own destiny, as well as the destiny of the world. After disappearing, the young Avatar despairs because three of his past lives were telling him that he should do what he did not want to do.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Avatar team was sleeping next to Ba Sing Se outer walls, Toph was resting in a rock tent made with her earthbeding, when, suddenly, she woke up to feeling a strange vibration in the ground, after getting up a huge circle of fire surrounded the group awakening them all. They were ready to fight but the group was surprised because those who woke them up were not their enemies, but the great masters: Pakku, Jeong Jeong, Piandao and Bumi.

“Well, look what we have here” Bumi said standing on a rock while laughing, Katara and Sokka smiled as soon as they recognized them and looked at each other.

“What’s hapening here? We are surrounded by old people!” Toph asked.

“Not just any group of old people. These are the great masters and friends of us” Katara explained to the earthbender as she approached to Pakku and greeted him respectfully “Master Pakku, it's nice to see you again”

“It's very respectful to greet your old master, but how about you give your new grandfather a hug?” Pakku asked, both she and Sokka looked at him in amazement, but the waterbender reacted and hugged him happily.

"You and Gran-Gran must be happy to have met each other again" Katara said looking at him with a smile on her face.

"I had to make her a new betrothal necklace and all that" the waterbender told her.

"Welcome to the family, Granp-Granp" Sokka exclaimed as he happily hugged Pakku.

"You can still call me Pakku" the old man said as he pulled him away from him.

“How about… Gran-Pakku?”

“No.”

"And this was Aang's first firebending teacher" Katara said to Zuko as soon as he introduced Jeong Jeong.

“Master Piandao” Sokka greeted him respectfully.

“Hi, Sokka” the man greeted him in a respectful way.

"So, wait, did you all know each other before?" Suki asked still confused with the scene that her eyes were witnessing.

"All the elders know each other; didn't you know it?" Bumi asked her while laughing.

“We’re all part of the same secret society” Piandao explained “a group that transcends the divisions of the four nations”

"The White Lotus Order" Zuko said knowing what the man was talking about.

"That's it!" Bumi exclaimed before Piandao could say anything else.

“The White Lotus was always a society about philosophy, beauty and truth” Jeong Jeong said “but about a month ago, we were called here for something important, it came from the Great Lotus, your uncle”

Zuko's eyes widened, his uncle... he was there after all. After that presentation, the Avatar team, without Aang, walked towards the camp where the great masters stayed, while walking, Bumi revealed that he only liberated the city of Omashu during the day of the black sun. With an astonishing display of earthbending, he broke free from his prison and expelled Fire Nation buildings, laughing and eating rock candy as he hurled the gigantic statue of Ozai out of the city. The Fire Nation soldiers were powerless due to the eclipse, and fled in terror, Bumi also asked the others if they did something interesting on the day of the eclipse; Zuko and Sokka looked at each other awkwardly and reply that they didn't.

Zuko was so nervous and euphoric that, on the way to camp, he was glad to learn that he would finally see his uncle again, but… how could Iroh forgive him after all he had done for him? Zuko had betrayed him during his attack on Ba Sing Se, although his sister tried to convince him otherwise. As soon as they reached the camp, the firebender couldn't wait any longer to see his uncle, but in turn, did not have the courage to greet him, the Fire Nation ex prince stopped in front of the tent where Iroh was, doubting if should enter or not.

"Zuko?" he could hear Katara's voice and he turned his gaze to the waterbender who was approaching him.

"My uncle hates me, I know" he said with a trembling voice "he always loved me, he always supported me and then I turned against him, how am I going to be able to see his face now?"

"Zuko, are you regret for what you did, right?" Katara asked, who remained attentive. That was her way of offering advice and helping others.

"More than I've ever been in my life" Zuko replied, he rarely speak like that.

"Then he will forgive you, he will" the waterbender told him in a comforting tone of voice. Zuko got up and before entering inside the tent, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and tried to find something of courage and hope and, wherever he went, deep in his mind, the image of a particular person emerged from his point of view and that person turned out to be Aang. The firebender not only love Aang with all his heart and soul, he was also inspired by the Avatar.

_"Go on, don't lose your own war too"_

A familiar voice spoke to him in his head, conveying calm. Instantly, Zuko felt a great weight lift off his shoulders when he heard that voice, all his doubts and fears vanished, he gently moved one of the curtains that gave access to the tent, when he entered, he saw a scene that it gave him a lot of nostalgia, he found his uncle sleeping soundly on the floor while snoring. A sincere smile spread across the firebender's face and he decided to wait to sit on the ground until the old man woke up.

Aang was still trapped on that mysterious island, he continued his incessant search for the power to stop someone without taking their life in the process. Although his hopes were almost crushed, he had faith that he could find something, he didn't know what, but he needed something to help him.

“All those past Avatars keep telling me what I should do” Aang told to Momo interacting with him “they don't understand” the boy looked at Momo as if he could understand the animal “you're right, maybe an air nomad Avatar understands me, since it comes from the same place as me”

His hopes came to life for a moment, maybe they were few, but he would find someone to support him, he summoned the ancient air nomad Avatar, YangChen, to ask her for advice on what he should do.

_"I am Avatar YangChen, young airbender"_ the woman introduced herself once she appeared in front of Aang.

“Avatar YangChen, the monks always taught me that all life is sacred” Aang told him, he was desperate, he no longer knew what to do and needed help “even the tiniest spider fly caught in its own web”

_“Yes, it's true, all life is sacred”_ she answered, for an instant, a slight smile was drawn on the boy's face _“but, Avatar Aang, I know that you’re a kind spirit and that the monks taught you well but the question here is not you, but the world. The Avatar's duty is to the world”_

Aang's smile faded as soon as he arrived, not even someone like him could agree with him.

“I guess I don't have a choice, Momo. I will have to kill the Fire Lord” Aang said, he had no hope left, maybe the world was against him, but he would be in favor of the world.

* * *

The next morning, after spending an entire night sitting next to his uncle, Zuko sees Iroh wake up and sits up only to find Zuko waiting for him. Iroh knew who was waiting for him and turned his back on him.

“Uncle” Zuko said trying his best not to cry, his voice trembled “I know you have mixed feelings when you see me, but I want you to know that I'm sorry, I'm really sorry and I'm ashamed of what I did” the firebender could not take it anymore, all that pain and guilt inside him were killing him to the point where tears overflowed from his golden eyes “I don't know how to make it up to you, but…” he could not finish his sentence because he was interrupted by a warm and sincere hug, full of tears in his eyes, the firebender take back the hug “how can you forgive me so easily? I thought you would be furious”

“I would never be angry with you” Iroh told him with tears falling from his eyes “I was sad because I was afraid that you had lost your way”

"I lost my way" Zuko replied.

“But you found it again” the old man said once they broke apart from his hug “and you did it by yourself, I'm so happy that you found it here”

“It wasn't difficult, uncle. You also have a too strong scent” the firebender commented, he felt so happy and welcome with his words and that was when he realized that Iroh was crying too.

Later, the Avatar was having a meal with Iroh, all gathered in a circle next to his tent, Zuko proposed to him the idea that he could kill the Fire Lord, but he refused.

"Even if he defeated Ozai, and I don't know if I could" Iroh told him "it would be the wrong way to end a war. The history will see it as another act of senseless violence, a brother killing a brother to have power, the only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord”

"And then would you go back and take your rightful place on the throne?" Zuko asked.

“No, someone new must take the throne, an idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko.”

"Unquestionable honor? but I've made a lot of mistakes” Zuko said with an unsure voice.

“Yes, you have. You fought, you suffered but you have always followed your own path” Iroh told him “you restored your own honor and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation”

“I'll try, uncle.”

The Avatar team went to work on a new plan, even though Aang was still missing, they had to act. Sokka, Suki, and Toph would intercept a major Fire Nation airbase to eliminate its power, while Zuko and Katara would go to the palace to fight Azula and look for Aang.

* * *

Aang woke up and saw mountains in the distance approaching, he had barely slept the night before, he kept thinking about how he was going to kill Ozai and how he did not want to do it, but from time to time, his thoughts took him back to his memories of him and the Fire Nation prince, just thinking about Zuko made him feel peaceful and secure. He was also worried about what Zuko would think of him or what he would say to him once he go back home, but as much as he tried to forget it and not think about that Zuko now is his boyfriend, more specifically, the Avatar's boyfriend, those words, now new to him, did not leave his mind.

As soon as he woke up, Aang realized that the island was moving, so he decided to go swimming around the island and saw a giant paw moving under the water, almost as if he was rowing, then he understood that the island was actually a giant sea animal and began to swim towards his face. Aang discovered that the moving island was a lion turtle, which stopped swimming and lifted the young Avatar on his paw, already on the surface and facing the animal, Aang bowed respectfully in front of him.

“Maybe you can help me. Everyone, including my own past lives, are waiting for me to eliminate someone” the young Avatar told him and slowly lowered his gaze “but... I don't know if I can do it...”

_“The true mind can capture all the lies and illusions without getting lost”_ the lion turtle said _“the true heart can resist the poison of hatred without being damaged. Since the beginning of time, darkness thrives in emptiness, but always yields to the purifying light.”_

The huge animal raised a paw, two of its claws touched Aang's chest and forehead causing them to light up with a green light. Aang did not understand the lion turtle's words, but hearing his advice comforted him, once they reached the shore, the huge sea animal left him on it and waited for the Fire Lord Ozai’s arrival.

As night fell, the Fire Nation air fleets commanded by Ozai prepared to depart and look how Sozin's comet enter through the Earth's atmosphere.

“It's time for this world to be consumed by fire” Ozai exclaimed “and a new world rises from the ashes”


	20. Chapter XIX: Sozin’s comet [pt III: Into the Inferno]

Sozin's comet flew through the earth's atmosphere, already breaking through the earth, the hot fireball quickly flew through the sky and warned everyone what was about to happen, those with the power to control fire felt its power absolute flow through them to commit their follies, attacks and spread fear making people want to hide in the shadows. Team Avatar, without Aang, continued with their initial plan, now Zuko and Katara were flying in Appa towards the Fire Nation's domains, both ready to confront Azula and fight him.

“Zuko, don't worry. We can defeat Azula” the waterbender told him, she had already noticed the state of concern in the latter one, but it seemed that the more they talked about it, more nervous he got.

"I'm not worried about her, I'm worried about Aang" Zuko replied with a more serious tone than usual and although he seemed to be focused on his mission, inside he was starting to lose his mind. Despite his internal anxiety, he noticed the sudden discomfort of the girl next to him “what if he doesn't have the guts to face my father?” his voice was firm now, but that question made it clear to the waterbender that he was scared and feared, Katara's expression became firm, she looked at him differently, almost agonizing. Zuko shifted his gaze to Katara, the wind was blowing hard, ruffling their hairs, if it was a moment to be honest, it had to be now “and... what if he loses?”

"Aang won't lose, he'll come back" Katara told him with a serious look on her face, she was so sure of herself that he even believed in her own words. Zuko looked at her for a moment before looking away towards the horizon “he has to come back”

The firebender looked at her and then looked back at the horizon, a small relief invaded him as soon as he heard the confidence with which Katara was speaking to him, but at the same time, he could not help feeling a bit of jealousy or perhaps it was anger that It was building up inside him, not that he did not believe that Aang would not come back, he had trusted his life to the little monk but he did not trust his father, he knew perfectly well that the man would do anything, ANYTHING to be able to win that war and the very idea of losing Aang made his stomach turn, this was going to be quite a long journey.

In the Fire Nation palace, Azula was being cared and cleaned by her maids before her coronation as the new Fire Lord begins; however, when a maid offered her some cherries, she spat out a cherry seed, believing it to have been a pathetic attempt to murder her.

"Hey, look at this, what am I holding?" Azula asked the maid who was holding the cherry bowl, showing her the seed in the palm of her hand.

"A cherry seed, princess" she replied as she lowered the cherry bowl to get a better look at the seed.

“Exactly and what day is today?”

"It’s the day of your coronation" she said, lowering her eyes and turning her head away from the fearsome princess sight.

“Yes, it is” Azula said while staring at the cherry seed “please tell me why, on the most important day of my life you have decided to leave a seed in my cherry” she added as she threw the seed against the maid forehead.

"It wasn't a decision; it was just a small mistake" she replied.

“Small? what if I hadn't felt the seed in time?” Azula asked angrily, the other maids stopped their tasks to look at the scene that was happening in front of their eyes.

"I supposed you’ve drowned?"

“Yes, then you already know the seriousness of your crime.”

“I understand, princess” the maid said as she bowed in front of her with fear “please forgive me”

“Oh okay. Since it is a special day, I will show you a little mercy” Azula said, the maid smiled in relief but her smile faded upon hearing the following words from the princess “you’re banished, please leave the palace immediately” the woman put down the cherry bowl on the floor and left the room, Azula turned her gaze to her other two maids “what are you looking at? my feet need to be scrubbed and make sure you clean well between the toes” she added while holding the brush “I don't want my first day as a Fire Lord to be spoiled by poor feet hygiene”

In a place not far away, Sokka, Suki and Toph swam through the water with their lizard to the fleet of airships following the directions given by their partners.

“It's strange that I say this but, the comet looks beautiful from the sky” Suki commented looking at the sky that changed color and turned orange-red, the comet passed over them leaving a trail of white smoke on their heads.

"It's a shame the Fire Lord uses it to destroy the world" Toph commented who was sitting behind Sokka clinging to his waist, Suki looked hopefully at the sunset behind them. As soon as they reached the shore, they quickly got off the animal that was already exploring the area and trying to recognize what was around it, Toph was leading the way as if showing them the way and where they had to go, but Sokka and Suki believe they have arrived too late because they can see how the aircrafts began to take off towards the Earth Kingdom and what surprised them the most was seeing so many Fire Nation soldiers enter the airships carrying things and from one moment to another they were already flying, they had not even reached the top of the base, there was no time to go back and jump there.

“We are too late” Sokka said desperate “the fleet is already leaving”

"Then we'll leave too" Toph said as she turned her head towards the Southern Water Tribe warrior "where is the nearest airship?"

"It's…" Sokka could even complete his sentence, the earthbender propelled them aboard one of the airships with her earthbending. They flew until they fell on the deck, Suki and Sokka landed first and then had to hold onto Toph who became disoriented from not being able to calculate the exact position of the ground. Now that the three of them were inside, there was no going back.

The plan was simple, once inside the infiltrated aircraft, Toph knocked on the door of the control cabin and used his metal control to neutralize the soldiers and the captain. Sokka had an idea, posing as the captain of the ship, he ordered all the crew members to go to the bomb bay to celebrate the birthday of one of the crew members. Surprisingly, that day was the birthday of one of the crew, who was very excited and pleasantly surprised to believe that the captain remembered his birthday, in that, Sokka frees the platform below the bomb bay and the entire crew of the aircraft falls screaming into the ocean; although, fortunately, they fell from an altitude low enough for the crew to survive, with minimal injuries to their bodies and pride as well. Sokka increased the speed of the airship by directing its course towards the imposing airship of Fire Lord Ozai.

Back at the palace, the Dai Li agents leader and six Dai Li agents arrive before Azula in the Fire Lord's throne room. The throne room had changed and now, where before there were characteristic golden flames around the pagoda that Fire Lord Ozai, now self-proclaimed Phoenix King, sat giving his back to everyone, now there were blue flames and Azula was sitting there. looking at them with a frown.

"Did you call us, princess? Is everything okay?” the Dai Li agents leader asked her.

“Not really. I had already told you that not everything is okay” Azula replied without leaving a frown on her face “do you know how long it took you to get here?”

“Uh a few minutes, I guess?”

“Five, to be precise. In that time, an assasin could have slipped away, eliminated me and continued happily with it’s way” the princess said.

"My apologies, princess" the Dai Li leader apologized.

"Is this how you plan to treat your new Fire Lord?" Azula asked angrily "with delay and disloyalty?"

"The Dai Li would never betray you" the leader said in a high tone of voice as he glared at the princess.

“I'm sure that's what you said to Long Feng before turning against him and joining me, everyone is banished!”

“But...”

“Bye-bye” Azula said interrupting him, the leader got up from the floor and left the throne room followed by the rest of the Dai Li agents “and please send the other group once you get out”

After banishing all the Dai Li agents, the twins Lo and Li walked to the throne room where Azula was waiting for them. The princess had a bored look on her face from having to wait for so long.

"Azula, we heard what happened" Lo said as she approached to her with her twin "why did you banish all your servants? all your Dai Li agents?”

"And the Imperial Fire Masters?" Li asked as he knelt in front of the fearsome princess next to her twin.

“None of them could be trusted, sooner or later they would all have betrayed me” the princess replied with her back leaning against one of the wooden columns of the pagoda “just like Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee did”

“Azula, we’re concerned about you and your well-being” both twins told her, the princess reacted upon hearing those words and looked at both of them contemptuously.

“My father sent you to talk to me, didn't he?” the princess asked as she stood up and leaned her back against the wooden column “he thinks I can't handle the responsibility of being the Fire Lord, but I know wrong, I'll be the best leader in the Fire Nation history”

"I'm sure you will" Lo said "but considering what happened today..."

"Perhaps it would be best if you postpone your coronation" Li suggested continuing with what her twin was

going to say.

“What? which one of you told me that?”Azula asked angrily, becoming more paranoid than usual. Lo and Li pointed at each other wanting to blame each other respectively “what a shame. There’s a way to solve this, you two will have to face in a duel... I order you to fight in an Agni Kai”

“But…”

"We’re not firebenders" they both told her at the same time.

“Okay, okay. Lo you're banished” Azula said pointing to the old woman on the left side “Li, you can stay”

"But I am Li... then who of the two did she banish?" Li asked, this order confused both twins because they did not know in themselves who of the two the Fire Nation princess had already banished.

At Ba Sing Se, the White Lotus Order prepared for battle outside the city walls. Iroh, feeling the power of the comet, launched a powerful flare that knocked down a part of the outer wall, soon, the rest of the members of the order unite and invade the city, beginning to take down the Fire Nation soldiers whose powers they were strengthened by the comet.

Azula looked at herself in the large mirror in the room where she was fixing her hair for her coronation as Fire Lord, she tried to do it herself, but the result was not very favorable. Agitated, she took a pair of golden scissors and cut random strands from her bangs because they refused to obey her orders, as soon as the princess looked up in the mirror, she could see her mother, Ursa, reflected behind her.

"What a shame, you always had beautiful hair" the woman said standing behind her in the reflection of the mirror.

"What are you doing here?" the princess asked angrily.

"I didn't want to miss my daughter's coronation" Ursa replied.

“Don't pretend to be proud, I know very well what you really think about me. You think I'm a monster.”

"I think you're confused" Ursa told her "all your life you have used fear to control people and make them respect you, as you did with your best friends, Mai and Ty Lee"

"But what other option do I have?" Azula asked with a proud and arrogant tone in her voice "trust is for jerks, fear is the only way to gain their trust. Even you fear me”

“No, I love you, Azula. I always do” Ursa denied. Enraged, Azula threw her hairbrush against the mirror right over her mother's reflection, realizing that she was never there in the first place and begins to sob.

Aang was determined and had more confidence than he had ever felt in his entire life, despite the fear of losing someone during this battle, the confidence he had towards his friends was stronger and more powerful in himself and there was no comparison point, I already knew what to do and was going to do it. From the distance, Ozai used the power of the comet to begin destroying the Earth Kingdom with an incredible wave of firebending, both Momo and Aang look at the torrent of fire fall to the earth in the distance.

"Momo, it's time for you to go" Aang said to his animal friend, he gave him a last stroke on the head before taking flight. He could see the destruction caused by the Fire Lord, he looked at the aircraft, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath _“wait for me, Zuko”_ he thought, and using his firebending and earthbending, he managed to destroy the aircraft's engine calling Ozai’s attention. The two stared at each other for a moment, after that, Ozai took off his Phoenix King robes and pushed himself with the help of his improved firebending towards the young Avatar to fight him.

The airship landed on the dirt pillars below them, making Sokka, Suki, and Toph wonder what was happening, and as they zoomed in for a better look from the control cockpit, they happily saw that Aang had returned. Aang tried to stay cool and Ozai tried to keep convinced that he would come out of this battle like a winner.

“After generations of Fire Lords have failed to search for you, finally the universe has given you to me as an act of providence” that man said irritated and totally convinced, Aang was already tired of that man standing in front of him but he knew he was right.

“Please listen to me. We don't have to fight” Aang said trying to make Ozai change his mind “you can end all this here and stop what you’re doing”

"You're right" Ozai said, his voice came out horrible, thicker and more powerful than usual "I have the power, I have all the power in the world!"

Menacingly he unleashing a torrent of comet-enhanced firebending fury, starting the battle, Ozai and Aang's firebending attacks were balanced, but they ended up collapsing, creating a huge explosion in midair. Sokka, Suki and Toph looked the battle from the aircraft's control cabin, the three looked how the Fire Lord threw himself against the young Avatar, who quickly retaliated and the flames they threw crashed into each other, causing a fire explosion into the air, causing them to be violently pushed back.

“Go on, Aang. Finish him off! use your airbending cut!” Sokka exclaimed, he was agitated and jumped around the cockpit to cheer up his friend.

"Shouldn't we go help him?" Suki asked seriously, the Southern Water Tribe warrior's expression on his face suddenly changed.

“The battle against the Fire Lord is a battle that only Aang must win” he replied, they both looked back “he can do this alone, we have to prevent the fleets from burning the entire Earth Kingdom”

"And how are we supposed to do that, captain Boomerang?" Toph asked mockingly "I can't see anything outside of this floating piece of metal."

Sokka makes a thoughtful expression and then shifted his gaze to the two girls super excited.

“WE HAVE TO DESTROY THE AIRCRAFTS!”

As the airship heads towards the fleet, which begins to spread fire on the ground, Sokka crashes his stolen airship into the others, but cannot shoot them all, so Sokka and Toph end up separating from Suki and this forces to continue with the mission without her.

Back at the Fire Nation Palace, Azula's coronation begins, the princess was kneeling on the staircase in the main courtyard where the ceremony was taking place. One of the Fire Sages took the crown that consisted of a flame-shaped hair ornament and approached to her, the other advisers were there present, giving due service to the princess coronation.

“By decree of the Phoenix King Ozai, now I crown you Fire Lord...” the man stops speaking and undoes his posture looking at the sky with suspicion.

"What are you waiting for?" Azula ordered, looking at the man with fury, he was beginning to get impatient "DO IT!"

A sound came from the sky, the princess raised her gaze and could see the Avatar's flying bison from afar approaching the center of the courtyard, from there, Zuko decisively descends while Katara remains behind him sitting on the saddle.

“I'm sorry, but you will not become the Fire Lord today” he said taking a step forward “I will”

Azula stared at him and laughed sarcastically.

"You're so funny!" She commented.

"And you're going to fall" Katara said jumping from Appa, the Fire Sage was about to place the crown on Azula's head, but she stopped him.

“Wait. So… do you want to be the Fire Lord?" She stood up giving her brother a challenging look "okay, let's fix this, just you and me, brother. In the confrontation that should always have been, Agni Kai”

"Count with it" Zuko said, Azula smiled wickedly and Katara stared at him in fear.

“What are you doing? she’s cheating on you” the waterbender whispered to the firebender “you know well that she cannot fight against the two, so she will try to separate us”

“I know, but now I can defeat her.”

“You told your uncle that you needed help to face Azula” Katara said “that's why I'm here”

“There's something wrong with her. I can't explain it, but she's starting to lose her mind and that way no one will get hurt” Zuko said as he looked away at the girl next to him, Katara just nodded.

“Just be careful and don't get hurt” the waterbender warned him “or Aang would kill me with all the elements he has bended so far... you know well how much you mean to him”

“I know and I'll be okay.”

Zuko and Azula knelt on the floor with their backs raised and looked away from each other, Azula took off the red cloak that covered her shoulders and threw it away.

"I'm sorry this has to end like this, brother."

"No, you're not" Zuko said in a fighting stance, at that moment, he was one hundred percent sure that he would win that battle. Azula moved and suddenly launched blue fire against her brother, who defended himself by throwing red fire at the girl, both began their fight with an intense firebending enhanced by the comet, the fire did not even dissipate and Azula was already attacking again, getting as close to the firebender as possible. They both fought with their firebending with intensity, they just wanted to defeat the other and end this at once.

Aang and Ozai were evenly matched, although Aang was able to counter Ozai's fierce firebending, he could not get any of his attacks to hit him, even with all four elements at his disposal. Finally, Ozai proves to be a true, reckless and powerful firebending teacher and tired of seeing the young Avatar evade all his attacks, he resorts to a relentless barrage of lightning, Aang manages to dodge the lightning until he cannot continue and catches the last lightning bolt. To the Fire Lord's surprise, he immediately prepared to redirect it against him; however, he was still adamant in his opinion not to kill Ozai, so Aang sent the lightning straight to the sky. Ozai took advantage of this moment of mercy to send a firebending blast to the young Avatar as he tried to recover from the attack, although Aang managed to stop most of the firebending attack, but is thrown off the top of the pillar and falls into a shallow lake, making use of his waterbending, he managed to save himself from a fall that could have been fatal, Aang raised his gaze upward and saw Ozai approach quickly, eager to resume the battle.

Zuko continues his battle against Azula while Katara watches from the pillar, their attacks are fierce and unbridled, shooting fire to everything around them. Zuko skillfully countered all of his sister's attacks before starting to take an offensive stance and soon managed to attack her with a fire spinning kick.

“There's no lightning today?” Zuko asked provoking her after having thrown his sister to the other side of the courtyard “or are you afraid that it could redirect it?”

Katara's eyes widened and she ran out of the pillar where she had been standing, why was the firebender provoking his younger sister? this was going to end badly. The waterbender tried to call out Zuko, she wanted to tell him to stop, to let her help him... but Azula was already determined to change her combat skills.

“Oh, I'm going to show you a lightning!” Azula exclaimed preparing a lightning attack, she was about to send it to Zuko; however, seeing Katara a few feet away from him, she sent her attack straight towards the waterbender. Seeing this, Zuko got in the way of the lightning, thus protecting her from an attack that would have ended with a fatal wound and although he managed to prevent it successfully, who was seriously injured was him, the lightning left a red and purple mark on his chest, almost reaching his heart, leaving him unable to continue fighting.

"ZUKO!" before Katara could even go to help him, Azula started attacking her furiously while letting out a maniacal laugh uncontrollably.

The fight between the Avatar and the Fire Lord had now turned into a chase, Aang was running and swimming as fast as he could, trying not to get hit, when the Fire Lord got close enough, Aang used his earthbending creating a shield around him to protect himself and give him more time to think of a plan. He was starting to run out of ideas and he felt lost, something hit his heart and his chest contracted, his mind was confused, the man outside attacking him had not hit him yet, so what was that pain?

“You’re weak! like the rest of your people” Ozai exclaimed mocking him while laughing at the "shield" that the young Avatar had created “they did not deserve to exist in this world, MY world. Prepare to join them, prepare to die!”

Aang flinched, his arms shaking from the effort of keeping his shield closed as Ozai sent another firebending attack. He was sweating as the rocks around him were heated by fire, he could not do this, the man was too strong and powerful, Aang could not step forward and he needed to if he wanted to use the technique he acquired from the lion turtle. But now, he was trapped in his own defense and hiding from the Fire Lord, if he had his Avatar state, he might have one last trick up his sleeve, but he couldn't use it, it was gone forever.

"I don't think I can do this..." he whispered, his arms and legs were trembling, his body was trembling and the Fire Lord's attacks became more and more powerful.

_"Of course, you can do it, Aang"_

_"You are a talented child"_

_"You always know what to do"_

Zuko's voice rang in his mind, it was soft and comforting and for a second, Aang's fears faded and he began to think about being safe and sound in Zuko's arms, which were tightly wrapped around his body, but In his distraction, his protective earth shield was weakening and Ozai managed to penetrate his shield with a blast of charged firebending, nearly knocking him out from the heat. Increasing his power, Ozai charged an attack strong enough to destroy the shield completely, the impact threw Aang backward causing his back to impact against a jagged stone pillar, aligning his scar with a piece of rock protruding from this one, causing exuberant pain just before everything around him turned black.


	21. Chapter XX [LAST CHAPTER]: Sozin’s comet [pt IV: Avatar Aang]

In an airship that was within the fleet, Toph uses her metalbending to bend one of the wings of the airship causing it to crash into the others. A Fire Nation soldier on the airship manages to intercept them and attempts to send them both (Sokka and Toph) away from the airship using his firebending. However, they manage to evade his attack only to end up falling to the side of the aircraft, Sokka tries to slow the fall using his space sword, but instead he landed against a platform breaking his leg in the process, and Toph, on the other hand, hangs off the platform holding Sokka's hand.

Two firebenders approach to attack them from both sides, so Sokka uses his boomerang and sword to drive them away, losing them in the process. Even so, more firebenders appear and apparently, Sokka and Toph, are sure that this would be their end, but, fortunately, they are saved by another aircraft piloted by Suki in which they quickly land.

Ozai managed to penetrate his shield with a blast of charged firebending, nearly knocking him out from the heat. Increasing his power, Ozai charged an attack strong enough to destroy the shield completely, the impact threw Aang backward causing his back to impact against a jagged stone pillar, aligning his scar with a piece of rock protruding from this one, causing exuberant pain just before everything around him turned black.

“AHHH!” after colliding, the thought chakra is unlocked and Aang receives a vision of all the past Avatars, all in the Avatar state lined up with him, he remembered all the times he had mastered the Avatar state and also remembered how he had to give up his highest Avatar state in order not to lose the person he loved. His body was dragged by gravity and the rocks that protected him fell on top of him.

“Get out of there, little boy” Ozai said as he walked towards the rocky mountain that had formed there, he was more than sure that he had already won the battle “you’re about to be...” he was interrupted when he saw his beard being held by the boy's hand under the rocks, as Aang emerges from the rubble, his tattoos gleamed with the light of the Avatar state.

The Phoenix King immediately attacks the young Avatar's head with his firebending, although Aang manages to push his hand away effortlessly by directing his fire harmlessly towards the sky, before being able to counter with a powerful blast of air in his chest, causing Ozai fell back. Ozai brakes abruptly as he crashes into an earthen pillar and falls to his knees, he raised his gaze upward and saw an enraged Avatar floating in the sky in a sphere of air, his eyes brighter than ever and then in his storm of anger he roared just as Zuko had taught him, comet-enhanced firebending whips shot out of his mouth and limbs. As he soared higher into the sky, he used firebending whips to destroy various pillars of earth and move loose rocks towards him, as well as he collect water from the ocean, he managed to concentrate part of his flames, condense the rocks and he pressed the water to create rings around him and there it was the Avatar, master of the four elements at the height of all his power and strength.

In Ba Sing Se, the White Lotus Order is successfully liberating the city, Pakku and Piandao work as a team to defeat the Fire Nation soldiers, Bumi and Jeong Jeong shot down several tundra tanks and Iroh burns the Fire Nation’s flag that hung from the Earth Kingdom royal palace exposing the flag of its respective nation.

Aang, possessed by the Avatar state, attacks Ozai and throws him into the sky, but he recovers before Aang can reach him again. Ozai flees using his firebending to propel himself at high speed as Aang chases after him. Aang used his earthbending to compress small rock fragments, which he shoot like bullets, though Ozai managed to evade all of them with luck and continued to flee.

Back in the Fire Nation capital, Azula attacked with lightning and firebending relentlessly towards Katara, driving her away from any source of water. Zuko was lying on the floor, the pain in his chest where Azula attacked him was intense and unbearable and, believe it or not, his back was also injured, he tried to get up but the only thing he could do was to look how his sister chase Katara, she was going to kill the waterbender and Zuko could not get up to even help her. Azula threw lightnings and blue flames towards the girl who continued to flee, she said something to her, but the pain in his body was so terrible that it made his lose his senses a bit, his head hurt too much and his vision was becoming blurry.

“I would prefer that a healer from our family take care of Zu-zu if it doesn't bother you” Azula commented while laughing sarcastically, scaring Katara who was hiding behind a pillar “Zu-zu, you don't look so good”

Although Katara found water to bend, Azula is too fast for her attacks and the waterbender is forced to flee from her huge flames, eventually discovering a grid of water underneath her.

_"Of course, the sewer pipes..."_ she thought, a plan began to formulate in her head, but how was she going to...? she saw some chains near her, this might be her only chance.

"You’re nothing than a filthy peasant" the princess's voice trembled with anger, she walked a few steps above the sewer grating, Katara bend the water around her just before Azula could attack again at point-blank range, freezing them in place.

As Azula looked helplessly, Katara unfroze the water around her, swam through the water and tied the princess's hands with the chains to the sewer grating, once she finished, she unfreeze the remaining water and ran towards Zuko to heal him. She knelt beside him and used the water from her canteen to heal his wound, her eyes filled with tears of concern and fear, but then turning into tears of joy as she saw the firebender begin to awaken.

"Thank you, Katara" he said weakly as he dropped one of his hands over hers in a thankful way.

"Actually, I'm the one who should thank you" she replied "besides, there's no need to thank me. I only did what I had to do, after all, you’re my friend and Aang would probably not forgive me if you had died... he would probably kill me”

“I don’t think so. Aang would never do that” Zuko said looking down. Katara pretended that she did not hear that, once they got up, they turned their gazes towards Azula, she looked how her brother got up from the floor, still alive to her misfortune and her fragile mind was finally corrupted, she expelled blue fire violently from her mouth before rolling on the floor while screaming and crying uncontrollably. Zuko and Katara silently looked what the (once) almighty Azula had become, Zuko felt a little sorry for her, but she also deserved what happened to her, no one had been as cruel and manipulative as her in all their childhoor, also she tried to assassinate Aang when the Fire Nation attacked Ba Sing Se and he would never forgive her for doing that. Aang... the firebender sighed as he brought an arm to his wound and covered it with it, he just hoped that Aang had finished the fight with his father, because he could no longer wait to start a new life with the boy he loved. He was so tired and sore at the time that all Zuko wanted to do was rest and relax, so he turned away from his sister looking at the burned-out courtyard, there was a free corridor that had never been used before and that led to the royal gardens. For some reason, he felt the need to go visit his favorite place, something he had not done in a long time “I'll be back in a while, Katara”

He made it through the corridor with difficulty letting out a sigh of relief, after all, he had managed to defeat his sister and all thanks to Katara. He smiled when he found the garden as he remembered it, he walked slowly taking care not to injure his wound further, he crossed a small bridge where Zuko saw his mother's favorite tree, a tree that was placed next to a pond, the firebender went there without thinking too much about it, he sank into the roots that curled against the mossy wood and there he fell asleep.

Aang, still controlled by the Avatar state, continued to pursue the elusive Phoenix King and tried to crush him between two pillars of earth, but Ozai managed to avoid the collision in time. Ozai tries to counterattack, but his attempts continually fail against the unmatched power of all past Avatars, Aang manages to corner him with waterbending and chains him to the ground with earthbending shackles placed on his arms and legs. Being close to his enemy, the young Avatar began to speak with the voices of his predecessors.

**_“Fire Lord Ozai, you and your forefathers have devastated the balance of the world, and now you will pay the highest price.”_ **

The possessed Aang proceeded to give the final blow, a combination of the four elements in a single attack. Realizing this, Aang pushed the other Avatars aside in his mind, yelling at them to stop, he ran into Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk and YangChen controlling his arm, ready to send the final blow but Aang managed to push them away with a yell and taking control of his own arm, he stopped the attack. He glanced over his shoulder at the past Avatars, staring at them as he regained control of his body and sent them out of his mind, where they resided.

"This is MY fight" he yelled at them "and I will decide how to end it" Aang's pacifist nature breaks with the control of the Avatar state, managing to get out of this state, canceling his final attack at the last moment. After that, he released Ozai from his tides “no, I will not end this that way” he said softly, turning his back to the Fire Lord and looking beyond the battlefield, looking as one of the airships fell to the ground in flames .

"Even with all the power in the world, you're still weak" Ozai taunted once more, trying to challenge Aang to continue his fight.

As soon as Aang turned his back on him, he tried to attack him with firebending, but the young Avatar sensed his movement, through Toph's characteristic earthbending technique and quickly immobilized him with earth shackles, he placed a hand on Ozai’s forehead and the other in his heart, in turn, Aang cleared his mind, focusing on his energy, using his own spirit to be able to reach and touch the Fire Lord’s power, at that moment, he remembered what the lion turtle had teached him.

_"In the era before the Avatar, we did not master the elements but the energy within ourselves."_

He used that technique to bend Ozai's internal energy, risking being totally destroyed in the process, in fact, Aang's blue energy is almost consumed by Ozai's orange energy, he just did not have enough light in his spirit to break Ozai's darkness.

_"I love you, Aang"_

He gasped as he remembered those three emotional words that Zuko had whispered in his ear when they were in the crystal catacombs at Ba Sing Se, those words were forever etched in his mind and stabbed into his heart like the lightning attack that Azula shooted against his back. Instead of leaving him in pain, he was able to overcome Ozai's darkness and find the light his spirit needed to fight it, a column of blue light similar to the one that came out of the sky when Aang was freed from his iceberg appeared, he had love on his side, the most powerful thing in the universe.

They both fell to the ground exhausted, Ozai was on the verge of being unconscious and Aang was still trying to stay upright so as not to fall himself, he adjusted his posture and sighed deeply. Ozai moved on the ground but the boy did not lose his posture, that man was exhausted and his firebending did not come out of his fists in the least, so Ozai turned his gaze to his hands completely in fear.

"What... what you’ve done to me?" Ozai gasped, barely having enough energy to stare at the young Avatar in complete shock.

“I took away your firebending. You can't use it to hurt or threaten anyone, especially Zuko” Aang replied who continued to stare at the man for a moment more and then turned around to look at the landscape being consumed by the fire in front of him. Taking a deep breath, making use of his new control over the Avatar state, Aang manages to bend the water so that the tide rises and smother the flames with the help of Avatar Kuruk. Momo flew back towards him and landed on his shoulder.

An airship approached and the young Avatar smiled upon seeing Suki and Toph waving out the window, Sokka was directing the machinery. The airship landed next to the earth pillar it was standing on, Suki, Sokka and Toph meet Aang as soon as they get off the airship and just as Sozin's comet was beginning to lose itself in the sky, the young Avatar looked at the three of them with a smile while waiting for his friends, they all looked a bit ragged but at least they were alive and that was the important thing.

"You did it" Sokka yelled happily, limping because one of his legs was bandaged "you should have seen yourself, it was amazing! it was like ‘pshoom, pfoom, pfoom, phish, whoom’ and then the Fire Lord was like ‘eugh, eh, eh, eh, eurg, aye’"

"So... you know... did you finish the job?" Suki asked in a low voice, pointing to the Fire Lord’s reclining body.

"I'm still alive" Ozai growled, looking as menacingly as he could in his weakened state, Suki fell silent and took a few steps away from the man.

"There was another way to defeat him and restore balance" Aang explained to his friends "I managed to take away his firebending."

"Wow" Toph exclaimed, tilting her head a little "who taught you that?"

“A giant lion turtle.”

"You always have the craziest adventures when you disappear" the earthbender commented as she shook her head in disbelief. Sokka nodded in affirmation hoping he could break free of Suki's grip and looked down with a mocking smile at Ozai.

“Well, look at you. Now that your firebending is gone, I think I should call you ‘Loser Lord’."

"I am the Phoenix King" Ozai said trying to stand up but he was so tired and weak at that moment that he ended up falling face down on the ground.

“Oh, I'm sorry. We didn’t mean to offend you, Phoenix King whose butt just got whooped” Toph replied with a smile as she slammed one of her clenched hands into the palm of the other.

“Yes” Suki exclaimed jumping with joy as she put her finger on her chin wanting to think of a funny phrase “or how about the king of the guys who… did not win?”

"Leave the nicknames to us, honey" Toph told him.

Aang laughed at his friends jokes, the relief he felt a few moments ago, he was finally settling down and walked to the edge of the pillar gazing at the sun that was hiding behind the ocean, a hand rested on his vacant shoulder and looked at Sokka with a smile, who was now standing next to him, his friend smiled happily at him.

“So, I noticed that you recovered the Avatar state. Good for you” Sokka said giving Aang a firm hug.

"Yes, I did" the young Avatar replied, looking at the horizon for a moment until he remembered something important.

“Aang? is everything okay?” Sokka asked looking at him with concern, the boy's face was drenched with sweat and his muscles tensed.

"Where are Zuko and Katara now?" He asked as if he had been waiting to say this for a long time.

“He and Katara went to the Fire Nation palace to defeat Azula. Zuko would fight her for the crown.”

“Can this aircraft take us there?”

“Of course.”

"Come on then" Aang said, he did not want to waste anymore time, not when he could be with Zuko the way they should have been many months ago. Toph went to help Sokka, the four of them got on the airship and sped off towards the Fire Nation, watching the comet disappear over the horizon, leaving the sky blue again.

Katara sat silently on a stone bench in the main courtyard, swirling some water between her fingers, now that it was all over she had no idea what to do with her life. Perhaps she could dedicate herself to helping Aang with his duties as the Avatar, after all, there would be a lot of work to do to restore a world that had suffered so many years of war and darkness, but, for now, all she could do was stay there until to hear news from others, though… it was very difficult for her to focus on her waterbending or do nothing when she had a mind-damaged princess sobbing behind her.

“Okay! calm down, please! you don't need to cry that much” Katara yelled over her shoulder, she rolled her eyes at the scene Azula was doing, some small tears rolled down her cheeks.

The waterbender didn't even hear the aircraft approach until it was right above her, the huge and hulking machine landed in the narrow courtyard, something she assumed her brother must have done. The door opened and Katara got up to greet them, she was shocked to see her brother's injured leg and was a bit startled to see Fire Lord Ozai appear behind them, the man looked exhausted which indicated that he was no longer a threat, but before the waterbender could even say anything, Aang approached to her and took her by the shoulders lightly.

"Where's Zuko?" Aang asked, looking frantically at the courtyard.

“He went that way” the waterbender answered inclining her head towards the path that Zuko had taken “he looked quite tired and...” she could not even finish her sentence because Aang had already left with a blast of airbending in the direction that she indicated. Her brown hair ruffled due to the speed of the wind and Katara turned just in time to see Aang's foot disappear into a corner of the corridor “what was that all about?”

“Oh, nothing really. Aang just didn't want to waste another second to be able to spend the rest of his life with the person he loves” Sokka said in a nonchalant tone but despite everything, he kept smiling.

"You know?" Katara whispered to Toph who walked to stand next to her "I'm a bit jealous of them."

"Don't tell me, I think we're both jealous, girl" Toph replied crossing her arms; however, she also smiled. Katara turned her gaze towards the corridor where both boys had gone, she felt a sigh of admiration escape from her lips, not every day someone had the courage to be with the person who loves, and Aang was very lucky to have Zuko by his side.

On the other hand, Zuko was sleeping under the shade of his mother's favorite tree having the most beautiful dream he has ever had in his life. He dreamed that he was lying in his old royal palace bed and Aang was there, curled up next to him, the little monk looked at him and smiled at him while holding one of her arms and calling her by name, while gently leaning against her body. It wasn't until Aang shook him that Zuko realized that it was no longer a dream and that the young Avatar was literally waking him up.

“Zuko, Zuko, wake up!” Aang said, he opened his eyes suddenly and the firebender realized where he was once he woke up, he was in the garden, sleeping, curled up next to his mother's tree. Zuko sat up while rubbing his eyes, smiled as soon as he saw that Aang was actually next to him, shaking his shoulders in an attempt to make him react.

"Aang, what... what's going on?" Zuko asked and suddenly a worrying thought crossed his mind, what if Aang had killed his father in order to win this war? was that why the boy was so numb and exhausted at the time? “you didn't have to… did you? what happened to my father?”

"I defeated him" Aang replied unceremoniously.

“How?”

“I took away his firebending.”

Alright that was something unexpected, now more than ever he wanted to know where he had learned that, maybe he would ask the young Avatar later, now what really mattered was that they were both alive and the war was finally over, before Zuko could speak again, his eyes widened and a muffled groan escaped from him as he felt Aang's lips pressed on his. They were kissing, oh Agni, they were kissing! Aang jumped to his lap after he finished speaking and pressed his lips against Zuko's in a desperate kiss, clutching his body in an attempt to keep him from pulling away from him. Aang kissed Zuko carelessly, his tongue and teeth licked and nibbled on the firebender's lower lip and Zuko had no choice but to open his mouth to breathe, but at that action, Aang's tongue invaded his mouth. Zuko gasped as he pushed the boy away according to his arm's length so he could look at him properly, Aang's cheeks were flushed, his eyes were bright, and his lips were swollen.

As of now, Zuko was sure that this was without a doubt the most beautiful image his eyes had ever witnessed.

The firebender snapped out of his trance when he felt the Avatar approach his body again, pressing their chests, wrapping his arms around Zuko's neck as he smiled at him.

"You kissed me like that once" Aang whispered, staring at Zuko's lips before meeting his eyes again "do you remember when we were in the underground cave of Ba Sing Se? I was so happy to see you and so excited to think that you would finally be by my side, so... then you said something to me, Zuko, do you remember what it was?”

"Of course, I remember" Zuko replied raising his arms to wrap Aang in a warm hug "it's the first time I've said these words to someone else than my mother or my uncle."

“Then tell them me. Tell them again" Aang pleaded, standing on tiptoe so that their faces were now only an inch away from each other, so Zuko could feel the words he was saying to him “please say them again”

“Okay, I'm going to say them again because I'm not going to repeat them, I love you, Aang. I love you so much” Aang closed his eyes, seemed to be enjoying hearing those words and without even hesitating, he pressed a chaste kiss on Zuko's lips before pulling away enough to give him his own statement.

“I love you too, Zuko.”

Euphoria was what he must be feeling at that moment, if Zuko was dreaming, then he would never want to wake up again, all he wanted to do was enjoy that beautiful moment for as long as possible, lose himself in Aang’s face, which shone with love, a love that was for him and only him and kissing his lips until he could not tell the difference between their bodies. Now that the little monk was with him, he would definitely never, ever let him go and Zuko would definitely never tire of kissing Aang, not now that he had the chance to do so. The firebender continued to press soft kisses on the minor's lips, they were only small and quick kisses before separating again and being able to better appreciate Aang's face, enjoying each expression, each sound, each breath, making sure that this was real and not a dream or a mere figment of your imagination.

"I love (kiss) you so much (kiss)" Zuko murmured, pulling Aang as close as possible.

"Hey (kiss) Zuko?" Aang called him between kisses.

“(Kiss) what? (kiss)” the firebender replied still kissing his little monk.

“Why (kiss) don't you wear (kiss) a robe on?”

“(Kiss) could I ask you (kiss) the same question (kiss) you know?”

“Your father (kiss) destroyed it (kiss)”

“Well, my sister (kiss) (kiss) destroyed mine (kiss) so, I guess we are already at hand (kiss)”

“It’s that... (kiss) makes me feel so...”

“Make you feel what?”

Aang pull away from their constant kisses as he held Zuko's head with his hands, he was panting, he looked a little tired and very, very blushed.

"It doesn't matter, you don't have to worry about that" the young Avatar replied, smiling at him, he was so happy that Zuko's worries disappeared from his mind and he leaned down to receive a new kiss. After a few more minutes having a heated making-out session, Zuko broke away and pressed his lips to the top of the arrow tattoo that Aang had on his head, leaving a small kiss, he sighed relaxed as soon as he moved a few inches away from the boy.

“I love you” Zuko whispered for the last time that evening as he hugged Aang tightly against him, soon they would have to get up off the ground and leave the garden, their friends were probably looking for them and they would want to celebrate their victory, but now, the only thing Zuko wanted it was spending more time with Aang and having his small body snuggled against his.

Their new life and their future together would begin from now on.

* * *

The next day at the Fire Nation palace, Zuko was in his bedroom trying to dress up for his coronation as Fire Lord, but he is having trouble due to his injuries, there was a bandage wrapped around his chest, making it difficult for him move. It hurt, but he had to be ready, any minute Aang and his friends would arrive, and he was not ready yet, he never thought putting on a robe was more difficult than he expected in recent years! he was frustrated with his lack of skill.

"Do you need help, Zuko?" a strangely familiar voice spoke to him from the door, to his surprise, Mai entered inside the bedroom, he turned to look at her.

“Mai, you're okay” Zuko said a little excited, he expected to see her but he was happy to receive the help of a friend. The gloomy girl helped him to put on his robe “how did you get out of prison?”

"My uncle managed to untie some strands" she replied, they both let out a short and nervous laugh "that's not true, I escape, idiot" she smiled at him while helping her friend to dress up.

"So, you don't hate me anymore?" Zuko asked looking at her, Mai was dangerously close.

“No, now we are friends and I have to be supporting you as much as I can, right? It’s not right to arrest you with those you don’t like” she told him, they hugged for a few seconds because Mai pull away to stare at him “but never, NEVER ever run away and lie to me about it, from now on we will tell each other everything, like old times”

After saying that, she gave him a sincere smile, Zuko take back her smile.

"I will, I promise" he answered and they hugged again but Mai pushed him away a bit with an excited smile on her face.

“So, tell me… what are your plans now?”

"What plans?" Zuko did not quite understand what she was referring to.

“You and the Avatar? now that you will be the Fire Lord you can do whatever you want” Mai replied as she looked at him mischievously, Zuko blushed at the hint of his friend.

“Uh, I...”

“No, stop, Zuko. Don't tell me you didn't even make a plan, anything!”

“Of course, I have something planned! it's just that I don't know if he'll like it! It's not easy to please someone like the Avatar, you know?” Zuko answered who from one moment to another was nervous, Mai looked at him with affection and placed a hand on his cheek.

“Listen, whatever you do will please him. I know you can do this.”

They were both interrupted by a knock on the door, a soldier walked inside and was a bit embarrassed to see both friends so close to each other.

“Sir? huh… I just wanted to tell you that they’re here” with those words, the soldier withdrew from the bedroom with a bow and closed the door behind him.

“Well, it's the time. Go, fix things and get some decent clothes, you'll have to talk to all the citizens in a while” Mai told him, Zuko nodded and the gloomy girl left the bedroom.

Soon, they were all reunited in the Fire Nation capital, friends who were imprisoned had been released, Toph found some of her old friends from the Earth Kingdom, and Suki ran to meet her partners, the Kyoshi Warriors. Katara and Sokka meet their father, Hakoda, they ran to meet the man and hug him.

“I knew you would do it. I'm the proudest father in the world and your mother would also be proud of you” Hakoda told them, the three hugged each other and, from a distance, Katara saw Haru talking to his friends, maybe it was time to follow Aunt Wu's advice and the one that Aang gave her when they were in the Western Air Temple and come over to talk to him but when she was just going to do that, she noticed how the earthbender was looking at her mischievously and she blushed, but as she barely saw Sokka go after Suki, the waterbender made her decision and went to where Haru was.

“Uh, h-hi?” the earthbender turned to look at her, he still had his mustache on his face and he hardly recognized her, a warm smile was drawn on his face, he did not even need to talk to Katara, he hugged her tightly and was taken back immediately.

“I was so afraid of what might happen to you” Haru whispered in the waterbender ear “but I also knew that you would be fine, you’re a strong girl after all”

He tightened the grip on her waist and Katara wrapped her arms around the boy's shoulders as he wrapped them around her waist, hugging her while hiding his face in her long brown hair.

“I missed you so much” Katara said and that was all she could say before pulling away to look at herself and smile, the waterbender blue eyes were full of tears, as expected, she got a little sensitive with that tipe of meetings.

“I know, you can't imagine how much I have missed you” Haru said, he approached to her, their noses touched, Katara took the first step and kissed him, it was a sweet and short kiss but showed their true feelings After pulling away, the waterbender smiled shyly and Haru kissed her forehead laughing at the girl's embarrassed reaction. They turned their gazes away and as they barely did, they saw Sokka and Suki, who was now wearing her Kyoshi Warrior uniform, kissing, they laughed when they saw that a little makeup had stained Sokka's face after kissing her.

Before going outside for his coronation, Zuko, wearing the Fire Lord’s robes, approached to Aang, his heart pounding with joy and love as soon as he saw Aang wearing the typical airbender robes, sitting at the end of the corridor leading to the main courtyard where the coronation ceremony would take place. The young Avatar shifted his gaze to him and smiled as he stood up as Zuko walked over and reached out to touch the soft fabric of the yellow airbender robe that he had made especially for him.

“I can't believe that a year ago my purpose in life was to capture you and now...”

"And now we are dating" Aang said with a small smile, he approached while taking one of Zuko's hands, holding it tightly between his.

"Yes... we are..." Zuko replied softly as he stroked Aang's cheek with the back of his hand, the monk smiled tenderly at the touch and slowly narrowed his eyes to enjoy more Zuko's hand touching his cheek.

“I can't believe a year ago, I was still frozen inside a block of ice. The world is so different now…” Aang whispered, approaching to Zuko. He hugged Aang tightly and leaned down to place small kisses on the boy's neck, feeling the Avatar scent, that scent so characteristic that he would never be tired of feeling and he could also feel the accelerated beating of his heart.

"And it's going to be even more different... when we rebuild it together" Zuko said tenderly as he pulled away from the hug to place a soft kiss on Aang's smiling lips. As soon as they pull away, they walked through the gates out, holding hands with intertwined fingers as they stepped out into the sunlight and into view of the three nations harmoniously standing together. Zuko was the first to cross the huge door to the outside followed by Aang, a gong was heard and everyone cheered up enthusiastically, after all, he was the man who had finished the war “please” he said asking for silence with one hand “the true hero is the Avatar” Aang approached a bit embarrassed, the applause and screams increased as soon as the boy stood up next to Zuko “today the war is finally over. I promised my uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation and I will, the road in front of us will be a challenge, a hundred years of war left the world marked and divided” Zuko turned his gaze towards Aang but without stopping talking to the public “but with the help of the Avatar, we can return to the right path” he smiled at the boy “and start a new era of peace and love”

He shifted his gaze to the people present; he was nervous. One of the Fire Sages approached and crowned Zuko as the new Fire Lord.

"Hail Fire Lord Zuko!" the Fire Sage said after placing the crown on Zuko's head, and with that the beginning of a new era of love and peace was declared, both for the Avatar and for the new Fire Lord.

“I would like to say a few words” Zuko said, he turned his gaze to Aang and call him to come to his side, he simply obeyed without hesitating “for a long time, my greatest ambition in my life was to restore my honor, which I believed that my father had taken away, but a wise man taught me that honor can only be restored by myself and after a while, I began to realize that my ambition was no longer the same, I wanted happiness and not be accepted by someone it doesn't deserve it” everyone was already excited, Aang looked at him lovingly but his eyes were full of tears “I met this guy who moved my world in a way that I never thought was possible, it's not that bad, it's just something new, a new feeling and I feel that I will only live for that, I will never stop feeling this feeling because I never thought that I would feel something so strong for someone, much less that someone would be another boy, just like me” Aang turned his gaze towards the crowd that cried with emotion and then he realized that Zuko, who was already at his side, was moving “and now, look what you've done, you made me fall at your feet” the younger boy turned around to face him and everyone gave exclamations and gasps of surprise. The Fire Lord was kneeling in front of him with a wooden beads necklace in his hands and a wooden disc on which the emblematic Fire Nation symbol was carved hung at the end of this looking at the young Avatar who covered his mouth with his hands while the tears moistened his eyes “Avatar Aang, you agreed to be by my side, rule by my side, help me rebuild this world and support me even in my darkest days. In a symbolic way, I ask you not only to be the Avatar, but also the King of the Fire Nation and to help me in this difficult task, choosing what you think is right, do you want to be my forever boy?”

Aang did not reply, he placed his hands next to his body, he knelt in front of Zuko and then threw himself on top of him, both of them fell back and the young Avatar kissed him in response. You could hear the support from the rest of the nations and also some negative comments, but Toph managed to get those people to shut up. Haru and Katara looked at them happily and kissed, Sokka smiled at them, he pulled Suki towards him and kissed her too. Once they pulled away, Aang spoke again.

“I also have something for you” the young Avatar told to the Fire Lord, he placed a necklace made up of jade beads attached to a wooden disc on which the emblematic Fire Nation symbol was carved in red with three small gray spirals that symbolized the Air Nomads “with this, I declare that, from now on, Fire Lord Zuko, you are an honorary Air Nomad and also part of my people and my culture”

After that, Aang and Zuko hugged again and closed that symbolic union with a kiss, once they broke apart, the two walked back to the palace holding hands. After walking through a few corridors, they arrive to Zuko's old bedroom, he kept walking and Aang stopped by the door.

“If you accepted just because there were too many people looking at us, it’s okay, don't worry, I understand” the Fire Lord said, he felt two small hands around his shoulders, he looked away and saw a beautiful smile and a pair of watery gray eyes. The most beautiful and exotic gray eyes he had ever seen were filled with tears now, but Zuko knew that Aang was happy because his smile showed his teeth and he looked so cute that that tenderness literally struck his soul.

“I love you, Zuko” Aang said, the Fire Lord’s golden orbs opened in surprise and he felt a hand resting on his face, more specifically, where his scar was “It will be an honor for me to be by your side as your king and also as your boyfriend”

Zuko could not take it anymore and pulled Aang towards him in a deep and passionate kiss, their tongues battled one against the other wanting to gain territory, it was the deepest kiss they had ever shared and they were enjoying it madly. Aang brought his hands to Zuko's hair, untying the ribbon that kept it tied, and released his hair while his other hand held the flame-shaped crown while the one in his hair, tangled his fingers around his dark locks, Zuko gripped his hands on the boy's waist tightly as he pulled him closer to him and hugged him. The kiss was broken due to lack of oxygen and they barely opened their eyes, they realized that the bedroom had turned into a small twirl of air and fire, it was not dangerous, but it was beautiful, just like the dragons colorful fire when they went to visit the Sun Warriors civilization, both (Aang and Zuko) calmed down and the twirl disappeared, they looked at each other and then laughed nervously.

"I guess we got carried away" Zuko said to Aang while smiling at him.

"Yes, let's try not to repeat this again" the young Avatar replied, acting as if everything that had just happened had not existed. Suddenly, they heard someone knock on the door.

"Come in" Zuko said and a palace guard entered inside the bedroom, the same one who had entered earlier when he found him talking to Mai.

“Sir, your friends are waiting for you in the main corridor, they want you to wear the most informal clothes you have because they want to go to, uh… ‘party’” the guard said.

"Okay, we'll go there in a few minutes" the Fire Lord replied, the guard nodded and left the bedroom.

“Are you going to get dressed? because if so, I can wait for you outside” Aang said, he was about to leave, but Zuko stopped him.

“No, stay, please. I would like to talk to you and... I also need help with my clothes” Zuko said as a strong blush stained his cheeks, Aang seeing Zuko like that, with his face flushed and his hair loose and messy, he could not refuse his request and agreed to stay with him a little longer in the bedroom.

Later, Zuko visited his imprisoned father. When he reaches the cell, he finds Ozai wearing rags and defeated, leaning against one of the cell's stone walls with a blank stare.

“I should feel lucky. The new Fire Lord honors me with his presence in my lonely prison cell” Ozai commented sarcastically.

“You should also consider yourself lucky that the Avatar has spared your life” Zuko said “banishing me was the best thing you could do to me, it put me on the right path, maybe the time here could do the same for you”

"Why are you really here?" Ozai asked, he could see Zuko’s true porpose and it wasn't for that reason that he came to see him in the first place.

“I'm here because I want you to tell me something, where’s my mother?”

* * *

Some time later, in Ba Sing Se, life has improved in the world, the pile of tundra tanks that Bumi brought down was used for children to play around with their earthbending. At the Jasmine Dragon, Zuko helped Iroh serve tea to the rest of Avatar team, as well as serving his uncle and Mai some tea while they all relaxed together. Sokka was sitting at a small table trying to paint a group portrait to remind himself of the good times.

“Zuko, stop moving. I'm trying to capture the moment” Sokka said sitting in front of a table trying to make a picture of the whole team “Katara, could you move a little to the left?”

"What are you doing now?" the waterbender asked, raising an eyebrow at her brother's question.

“I'm drawing a picture of all of us, guys” the Southern Water Tribe warrior answered, Aang took Momo in his arms as he sat on the floor, he held back a giggle when he saw Katara walk to inspect Sokka's picture, remembering his friend's lack of talent when he wanted to make the Appa poster himself.

"That's nice of you, Sokka" Katara said, but then she seemed to see clearly what she was seeing and frowned, "wait! why did you put me Momo's ears?”

"That’s are your hair loopies" Sokka replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. The others came close to see the picture and Aang covered his smile when he saw how they gave a look of disgust, disbelief, and confusion.

"At least you don't look like a hedgehog boar" Zuko said, pointing to the drawing "my hair isn't that messy!"

"And why did you draw me doing firebending?" Suki asked wanting to support her boyfriend, but it was not very convincing, she looked offended.

"I thought it would look more interesting that way" Sokka replied with a smile. Momo jumped off Aang's lap and he laughed when he saw the lemur wanting to give his opinion of the picture, he emitted a squeak as he looked at the picture “oh, do you think you can do a better job, Momo?” he added looking at the lemur.

“Hey, my belly isn't that big. I've reduced myself a bit” Iroh commented, patting his toned body to give his point.

"Well, if you let me say something, I think you all look great" Toph said raising her arms and laughing, more laughter accompanied the earthbender's words and joy was present in the tea shop.

It was at that moment that Aang left the bedroom, walked outside taking a deep breath of the afternoon air as he went to a nearby railing and leaned against it watching the sunset; however, he was not alone for long, he sighed in pleasure and comfort as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, he leaned his back against the person behind him and raised his gaze only to meet Zuko's golden eyes and his smile. Aang smiled and returned Zuko's hug by closing his eyes, enjoying the moment with the person he loved the most in the world, after a few minutes embraced they separated, a hand held the boy's chin and Aang felt his breath catch with anticipation when Zuko join their lips together in a soft kiss, pulling his body against his to deepen the kiss. They kissed for a long time, at that moment, the only thing that mattered was that it was only the two of them in the world and nothing else, Aang pull away, opening his gray eyes and stared at his lover's while giving him a soft smile and Zuko take back the smile, the young Avatar opened his mouth to whisper his three favorite words to the Fire Lord, took a deep breath and prepared to pronounce those words; however, the moment was interrupted by a very familiar scream.

“CABBAGES GET YOUR CABBAGES HERE!”

Their eyes widened and turned their gazes in the direction the shout was coming from, both saw the cabbage merchant pushing his cart down the street next to Iroh's tea shop.

"I can't believe it" Aang muttered, dropping his head, leaning his forehead against Zuko's chest as he made an enormous effort not to laugh, the moment was completely ruined.

"Do you want me to burn off his cabbages?" Zuko asked innocently while smiling at him, although Aang could tell that he was being completely serious and that he would be able to burn to a lot of innocent vegetables just to see him happy. Aang considered it and turned his gaze to the merchant who was affectionately hugging one of his cabbages while rubbing it against his cheek as if it were a defenseless baby, he wondered if he was upset enough to punish the merchant for his sudden appearance and have ruined his romantic moment with Zuko, and finally, the young Avatar came to the conclusion that it was not worth it.

"Nah, that guy has been through a lot already, it's not worth it" Aang replied as he looked at the Fire Lord with a smile "but for some strange reason, his cabbages always end up destroyed.Bad luck, I guess”

The Fire Lord laughed and leaned forward to gently kiss Aang's cheek, caressing his face with one hand and hugging him.

“Hey... what do you think if we better get out of here and go to our apartment?” Zuko suggested giving Aang a wolfish smile and a movement of his only eyebrow “I don't think the others notice that we escaped for a couple of hours”

Maybe the environment was not completely ruined, they just needed to move to a more private place to be able to spend some time alone in peace and quiet. Aang chuckled as he was taken by Zuko's hand and they ran to their private apartment located just down the street, ready to enjoy a beautiful romantic evening together.


	22. Epilogue.

A year had passed since Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko made their relationship with the other nations public and during that period of time, they had gone through many challenges and adventures that sometimes hindered their relationship, but it was nothing that they could not get over with. In that year, both of them were working with the Earth King, Kuei, in an agreement to relocate the Fire Nation colonies on the Earth Kingdom lands, Zuko made a deal with his sister, Azula, who had been sent to a mental hospital because her mind was very deteriorated and he was more than sure that there was no longer any chance that she could redeem herself in that condition, to take a journey to Hira'a with Aang, Sokka and Katara, and thus search for their mother, the former Fire Nation queen, Ursa. But they were not always together in all their adventures, there were days when they had to be apart for a while taking care of their own duties, Aang also had some missions apart with his other friends, but when he was about to go to the Southern Water Tribe with Katara and Sokka, Zuko had to send him a message asking him to come back to the Fire Nation as he needed his help there, so the young Avatar had to postpone his visit to his friends home and go back to the Fire Nation.

Upon arrival, both he and Zuko had to deal with the recent emergence of an organization that still remained faithful to the reign of the ex Fire Lord Ozai, known as the New Ozai Society, confront the threat of the Kemurikage and disappearances of children in the Fire Nation capital. But thanks to his effort and the help of his friends, most of the problems could be solved, with the exception of the inconveniences that arose in the Cranefish town, so Aang felt that he needed to stay there with Katara for a while to make sure everything was going well and also because he felt a connection to that place, he was not sure what it was, but it made him believe that as long as he could solve Cranefish people problems, in time it could become a very special place.

Now, Zuko lay on his bed in one of the Fire Nation's warships bedroom staring up at the dark roof. They had been traveling for eight long months and Zuko was starting to get bored, he missed Aang, who was still in Cranefish town with Katara working together to solve all the problems they could, eight months had passed since Aang told him about his decision to settle in that place for a while and now more than anything he needed to have the young Avatar with him. He was about to fall asleep to distract himself from his boredom when, suddenly, he heard a loud bell ringing throughout the ship. He jumped to his feet, pulled on a red robe with gold trims and ran to the door.

_"He's finally back!"_ he thought, opening the door with a loud creak, he ran towards the stairs and slid down the cold metal railing, then ran onto the deck, his bare feet slipping on the metal deck. He looked up at the sky, covered his eyes to protect them from the strong midday sun, he could barely see, but then his eyes sharpened his vision and he could make out the familiar blue wings of Aang's glider behind a cloud “prepare the cannon!” he ordered to the soldiers who were with him on the ship, none of them questioned his order and in a matter of seconds a spring cannon was on the deck, they loaded a small capsule and positioned the cannon “alright, at my signal” he said marking the blue spot in the sky “FIRE!”

The capsule shot into the sky, the smoke dragged it and a bright light emerged from the tip, managing to briefly outshine the midday sun, that flare disappeared and so did the glider behind the cloud. Zuko watched and waited, he saw the glider spinning towards the ground almost as if it was out of control, it was falling straight towards the ship, the glider kept falling and falling, it took a little push with the wind and headed towards the deck, Aang's feet touched the deck, he dropped the glider, letting it slide towards the metal railing, ran towards Zuko and jumped into his arms.

“Zuko! I'm so glad to see you again" Aang exclaimed on the verge of tears. He had not seen the Fire Lord since he stayed in Cranefish town with Katara and was beginning to miss him terribly.

"Looks like the flare worked" Zuko said still holding Aang in his arms tightly.

"Why’re you traveling on your warship when you can travel on the Fire Lord's ship?" Aang asked as soon as Zuko let go.

“I have good memories on this ship, besides I hate traveling with the royal court, sometimes they can be very annoying” Zuko replied making the young Avatar laugh softly, after that, they both walked slowly across the top of the bridge on the observation deck, Zuko took Aang's hands and pulled him towards his bare chest, Aang looked at him and Zuko leaned in to kiss him, they shared a long kiss, his tongue exploring every corner of Aang's mouth as the young Avatar tangled his tongue with the Fire Lord’s one, a chill ran down his spine, he ran his fingers through Zuko's dark and salty hair and also through his slightly tanned skin, they had missed each other a lot and they had been separated for a long time. After pulling, Aang turned his gaze to the horizon, the setting sun was sinking in the west and the sky was filled with a reddish orange hue.

"It looks like the sunset on Ember Island, remember?" Aang commented.

“How could I forget it?” Zuko replied as he looked at Aang who was lying on his chest, that day was the best of his life because he had finally made Aang his own after so many months suffering and waiting to be by his side “so what have you been doing the last few months?”

“Just travel around the world, solving problems in Cranefish town with Katara by my side to help me in whatever way she could... Avatar stuff you know? and… what does it feel like to become the Fire Lord? apart from everything we went through last year.”

“Ugh, I'm starting to hate it. It's nothing but work and trouble, rebels here, disagreements there, having to convince the world that peace has returned. It will take a long time for the world to trust the Fire Nation again” Zuko said, the young Avatar looked at him with a disconcerting but enthusiastic look “what?”

“Hmm... I think we need to escape from our obligations for a few weeks. We need a... vacation! yes, that's it, just you and me” Aang proposed with a big smile.

“But… what?!” the Fire Lord exclaimed a bit surprised by the sudden proposal of his boyfriend “there’s still a lot of work to do” Aang looked at him with his big pleading eyes, he knew well that Zuko was unable to resist that look no matter how much he wanted “alright, it can wait a week or two, but stop looking at me like that!” Aang got up happy to know that his boyfriend accepted his proposal and kissed him sweetly. They talked a bit more, catching up on what had happened in their time separated, the afternoon slowly disappeared and from one moment to another, they were looking at the stars, the moon was full that night and lit up the ocean, the waves were calm and the wind was light. Aang snuggled closer to Zuko's chest and soon he was enveloped in his warmth to fall asleep, the Fire Lord looked down _“of course...”_ he thought to himself _“he always falls asleep”_

Carefully, Zuko lifted the young Avatar in his arms and carried him downstairs to his small bedroom, casually walking down the corridor he met with a servant.

"Sir" he said aloud, Zuko hissed at him.

"He's asleep" the Fire Lord whispered, lowering his head to point to Aang's limp body.

“I'm sorry, sir” the man apologized “I just wanted to let you know that we will arrive at the pier tomorrow at dawn”

Zuko nodded and led Aang to his room, laid him on the bed, took off his robe, and lay down next to him. Aang rolled onto his chest, tightening his pants tightly, Zuko's body relaxed at the touch and after eight long months, he was finally going to sleep well with the boy he loved by his side.

* * *

The next morning, Zuko woke up to a thud of the ship docking at the dock, he looked away at Aang who was asleep hugging him tightly, they were back in the Fire Nation capital after eight long months. Zuko carefully removed the boy and got out of bed, he opened the closet and slowly dressed up in his formal Fire Lord robes, then placed the flame-shaped crown on his head, went to the bed and woke Aang who was still sleeping comfortably.

“Hmm…” Aang rubbed his eyes to get rid of sleep while looking at Zuko “good morning, Fire Lord, why are you wearing the robe?”

"I have to be dressed up when I travel to the palace, you probably want to be ready too" he said softly, Aang got up and dressed up, putting on the airbender robes that he wore when he defeated the previous Fire Lord. When they finished, they both went down to the deck and descended the metal ramp to the pier located below the palace, walking towards the palace being cheered or greeted by the citizens, even after a year and eight months of difficulties after the war. They went through the Fire Nation palace huge doors and headed for Zuko's bedroom, as they got closer, Zuko became more and more excited and was more and more eager to be alone with Aang, they entered inside the bedroom, Zuko asked the maids to leave and closed the heavy doors “well then where shall we go anyway?” he asked, it was a warm spring morning and the sun's rays were flooding the bedroom, illuminating everything around. Zuko approached the sofa and took a seat enjoying the rays of the sun and began to think of some options “Ember Island?”

"No" Aang replied.

“Whale's tail island?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Hmm… where will we go then?”

"How about you better find out as soon as we get there?" Aang asked with a sly look in his eyes, Zuko wanted to question him more, he was anxious and intrigued to know where they would go, but Aang was the one who was planning everything within that shaved head of his that he decided to watch and wait.

“Okay, let's pack then!” Zuko said getting up from the couch, they ran to finish packing, stuffing whatever clothes they could find in the bags. They ran down to the gallery where Zuko ordered the amount of food they would need, then all those things were loaded into a small wooden boat, they ran to the dock laughing as if they had been children again. They quickly climbed up aboard gasping, Zuko took the helm and set sail “wait! I still have no idea where are we going”

“Just head to the east and I'll tell you where you should go” Aang said, the small engines of the boat moved strongly pushing it through the waves, they traveled for a couple of hours to the east “okay, now start heading to the north”

Zuko looked at the compass as he turned the boat in the direction the younger indicated.

"Wait, we're on the edge of the archipelago, what's going on here?" Zuko asked with nervousness in his voice.

"Just trust me and you'll find out soon" Aang replied as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck.

_“What could be out there?”_ Zuko thought.

"Al right, here we are" Aang said as he led Zuko to a natural pier, Zuko raised his gaze to that place.

“There's nothing here, are you sure this is the correct address?”

"Not here, but up there is the place where we are going to spend our vacations" the young Avatar replied.

They docked the ship and unloaded their supplies, Aang used his earthbending to push Zuko, him and the supplies up the steep hill, the Fire Lord looked towards the horizon to see... a desert plain, the grass was swaying by the afternoon breeze, the young Avatar continued walking across the plain until they came to a small stone pole, Zuko looked how Aang sent a current of air with his airbending through the opening of the pole and a stone door opened, soon they were inside some kind of ancient elevator, entering a cavern.

"Where are we?" Zuko asked, once the elevator landed with a thud on the floor, one by one, large stone windows began to open, in the center of the room there was a large firepit and a wooden door. To one side, next to the fire there were two beds and several blankets “wait... is this place the Western Air Temple?” the Fire Lord was surprised to know where they were, he looked around that sterile room, it seemed so different, he had never noticed that place before when they were hiding in the West Air Temple from the Fire Nation and Azula with the rest of the Avatar team, of course, that was the last time they were there, it felt like deja vu. They put the bags around the fire and unloaded the food; yet the room remained stark and warm “why does it feel so different?” the walls were covered in murals, each one perfectly preserved. Their colors were beautiful, and the drawings looked so real, almost as if they were alive “wow where do these drawings come from?”

“They have always been here, we just didn't realize that this room existed when we were hiding from the Fire Nation until now” Aang told him “I couldn't open the stone windows the last time we were here to see what there was inside, but, this is my story, I remember these drawings well”

Zuko walked over to the young Avatar and put an arm around his shoulder as he continued to stare at the place, then he remembered something important.

“Wait! if this is the same room, then...” he took Aang's hand and ran out, he saw a small waterfall in the centre of the room that fell into a shallow pool, the water was clean and cool, Zuko smiled and started to take off his clothes, he turned his gaze towards Aang who was standing behind him slightly blushing “well? what are you waiting for?” Aang happily nodded and also undressed, Zuko continued undressing until he was only in underwear, Aang sighed to himself with that magnificent view, they jumped into the pool and dived into the cold water, Zuko went out to the surface, lying on his back, his head was the only thing floating in the water “I needed this”

His arms relaxed and Aang sat against the wall of the pool letting the cold water envelop him, he shifted his gaze to the half-naked teenager, Aang could feel his own pants become uncomfortable, he silently dove under the water and he swam his own way to Zuko. He opened his golden eyes when he heard an explosion in the water, he looked around, he opened his mouth a little wondering what the hell was happening before the young Avatar appeared behind him, he took him by the arms and plunged him into the water for a brief moment, luckily, Zuko managed to get out of there, although he was a little stunned by the sudden action of the younger boy, he sat on the edge of the pool and looked away towards Aang.

“Like in the old days, huh? I was the one who always be on top of you!”

Zuko laughed to himself and sat with his back against the stone wall, his head resting on the edge of the pool and his body floating just below the surface. Aang stopped laughing, smiled at his boyfriend and walked over to him, Zuko felt his small hands gently fall on his hips and gave a shaky sigh. Without a doubt, this was what he was waiting for.

Aang climbed up to Zuko's hot body, leaning down to kiss his waist, then his belly, his neck, and his lips. They held that kiss for what seemed like forever, Aang's tongue slid across Zuko's lips into his warm mouth, penetrating deep into his throat, licking and exploring every corner of his mouth, they parted for a moment, breathing silently. The environment around him was perfectly calm and quiet, Zuko grabbed the back of Aang's neck and pulled him closer by bringing their lips together again.

"Aang..." Zuko murmured a little surprised by the desire that his voice conveyed, he groaned when the young Avatar nibbled his lower lip, lowered his head kissing and sucking on his jaw and neck, then Aang directed his mouth towards an erect nipple, licking gently playing with that bulge, Zuko let out a soft moan, he had been away for so long without his adorable boyfriend to give him pleasure as only he knew how to give him. Aang continued his way across her chest, licked and kissed the cold, smooth skin, looked at Zuko who was lying with his eyes closed, his body trembling and slightly shuddering at the waves of pleasure. Then Aang slid his hand through his underwear, slowly massaging his member, feeling it harden and aroused under his touch, Zuko sat up, climbed onto the stone edge and sat down positioning his tight bulge directly on Aang's face, the young man. Avatar grabbed the waist and slowly lowered his underwear, the Fire Lord’s cock came out almost eagerly, Aang looked at it, observing that length that had been lost for a whole eight months, without much thought, he licked his cock from top to bottom slowly, playing and torturing him, his hands moved up and down Zuko's chest, caressing him “oh, Aang… stop teasing me” but the young Avatar had other plans in mind, he continued licking his penis up and down playing with the tip using his tongue, Zuko moaned loudly echoing through the walls of that empty room “Aang oh! Aang~!”

He had so much accumulated pleasure that he wanted to be released at once, but the young Avatar would have what he wanted, he lowered his lips, pressing them lightly around the tip and slowly introduced Zuko's cock into his mouth, who let out a new moan at the sensation. Aang inserted the cock fully, then slowly pulled it out, his lips parted making a small pop sound, he took his boyfriend's erection again this time skillfully licking it with his tongue, torturing the tip, Zuko's hands went to the younger boy head and shoulders stroking them gently in an attempt to want to mark his own rhythm, he shuddered stronger, losing track of time and his contact with reality as a result of the pleasure he was feeling.

Aang pull out the erection from his mouth again, he took it with his cold hand and stroked it slowly up and down, precum overflow from the tip, the young Avatar smiled at this, bent down and began to suck again without stopping for several minutes, Zuko's back arched, his penis was already throbbing, if his adorable boyfriend continued to please him in that way, he was more than sure that he could not resist much longer, Aang sucked faster and faster, his teeth from time to time rubbed the soft, sensitive skin and that was all it took Zuko to finally reach his limit and cum into his mouth. Aang swallowed all the cum he could, the rest dripped from the corner of his lips and trickled down his chin, the Fire Lord took the boy's chin causing him to stare at him, he approached and wiped the remains of cum with his tongue, his body was still shaking after the intense orgasm he had just experienced, after Zuko finally managed to relax and regain his breath, he got up taking Aang with him, they left the pool and lay on the stone floor. They were both exhausted but Zuko's idea was not exactly to rest, much less sleep, he quickly positioned himself on top of Aang with both knees on either side of his hips and before the young Avatar could say anything, Zuko leaned over and pulled the boy's pants down along with his underwear, he looked at his erection and was a bit surprised because he had grown this last year, the Fire Lord quickly came out of his trance and licked his lips hungrily, all he thought about was putting that dick into his mouth and sucking it and he wanted to do it now, quickly, he inserted Aang's dick in his mouth, sucking, licking and gently blowing the slit of the tip.

“Oh... Zuko” the young Avatar moaned and sighed, Zuko continued sucking but he did not want Aang to come, he stopped and looked at the Avatar who was looking him a bit anxiously.

“No, I don't want you to cum. Not yet” Zuko said playfully, he lay on his back on the ground his hard cock protruded, he took Aang's arms and positioned him just below his erection, the young Avatar sat up, ready and eager, Zuko held him firmly by his arms and slowly lowered it, his cock slid through the young boy entrance, he sighed, inhaled and exhaled slowly, Zuko's cock was introduced inside him more and more deeply.

“Ah! Zuko~! Nngh...” Aang moaned sitting on Zuko's erection, his cock was already inserted to the depths of his being, after a few minutes, Zuko began to lift Aang placing his hands on his hips, moving him up and stopped just before his penis was completely removed from inside her. The Fire Lord had no idea what he was doing, he had never had sex like this before and never been like this, but he seemed to be an expert acting on instinct, Zuko firmly grasped the young Avatar's waist and held him firmly in place while he was beginning to thrust him mercilessly, in and out of her narrow entrance as he moved up and down, faster and louder, Aang moaned with each thrust, the pleasure inside him overwhelming. Then, Zuko stood up, letting Aang lay on his back against the cold stone floor and in that position he continued with his thrusting, while holding his ankles keeping the young boy in place as he rammed him, Aang's gray eyes closed forcefully and moaned of pain mixed with pleasure, he moved his hips while letting out soft moans and purring his boyfriend's name, Zuko gasped, thrusting inside Aang with more depth, while keeping his rhythm without stopping or giving a little stop even.

Desperate, Aang wanted to regain control of the situation again, so he moved up and down letting all kinds of moans, erotic sounds and gasps escape from his lips, Zuko directed his hand towards his member and began to masturbate him to the rhythm of his lunges. The young Avatar gasped at the sensation, he screamed as he felt how Zuko's member brushed against a point inside him that made him moan loudly and gasp with maximum pleasure, his hot semen fell on the Fire Lord's chest and a little got dirty his face. Aang's body relaxed, the pressure eased a bit as he tried to compose himself from the post-orgasmic spasms he was experiencing, Zuko brought a hand to his belly, ran his fingers through the semen and brought it to his mouth, tasting it .

_"That taste... oh, Agni, how much I miss that taste"_ he thought, his mouth was unable to articulate those words. Aang slowly moved, removing his cock from his throbbing entrance and collapsed onto Zuko's chest, their bodies covered in sweat, Aang raised his head, he took Zuko's face with both hands and pulled him towards him for one last kiss “thank you, thank you, Aang. I was starting to miss this and I really needed it” after lying on the cold stone floor for a while trying to calm their breaths and regain strength, they both got up and went back to the pool to freshen up and clean themselves. They left from there minutes later, dried up and dressed up, they took their beds to the middle of the corridor that led them to the pool and positioned them next to each other, there was no need to cover themselves with the sheets, after all, it was a hot afternoon. He pulled the boy closer to him in a tender hug while rubbing his back and shoulders for a few moments “you so tense, Aang. But don't worry, I know exactly how to fix that” Zuko took off Aang's robe exposing his back and part of his chest, the young Avatar could feel the cold air against his skin “now, lie down” Aang obeyed and placed his head on the bed next to his boyfriend's, Zuko warmed his hands and began to slowly massage the tense muscles “are you okay? how does that feel?”

“A little higher... ahh, right there. That feels good” Aang said as he closed his eyes and hummed softly as the Fire Lord worked on his boyfriend's back, slowly stroking the scar that made them one and getting back to his task. Aang was relaxed and his tense muscles were loosening, then Zuko moved down and stroked the young Avatar's sides, Aang flinched at this action “ha ha! Zuko, that tickles!”

"Oh really?" Zuko asked, smirking and continuing to tickle his sides.

"Ha ha, s-stop... hahaha, I'm very haha, I'm very ticklish!" Aang begged as he hit his boyfriend's arms in an attempt to push him away from him but apparently that did not work.

“Yeah, I can see that.”

Aang laughed louder and louder, tears streaming down his smiling face, Zuko stopped as soon as he heard him gasp for air. Once she saw her boyfriend stop tickling her, Aang made her move and grabbed her wrists, flipping her over and pinning her against the bed.

"Now you're going to pay for that!" Said the young Avatar and began to tickle Zuko's sides and back.

"Ha ha ha I should have known better!"

Aang removed Zuko's robes and continued his assault. The Fire Lord's chest rose and fell, breathing hard, Aang stopped and looked at his boyfriend, then leaned forward and kissed him long and feverishly, Zuko's body relaxed and relaxed as the kiss corresponded .

"Now it's your turn…" Aang whispered in her ear once they broke away from the kiss. Zuko stared at Aang with his golden eyes without understanding what was going on, the young Avatar quickly got to work, caressing his chest, massaging and kneading his abdomen, Zuko shuddered when he felt those cold hands; however, he did not want him to stop. Then Aang moved up and began to massage his shoulders, applying more pressure with each stroke he made, moving his hands towards his chest making circles with his palms, Zuko threw his head back closing his eyes and let out a soft moan.

“Ahh, Aang. You’re better than me at this…” Zuko said as he approached and caressed the young Avatar's face, Aang took the Fire Lord's hand feeling his warm pulse, he laid him down and massaged him again, Zuko could feel his pants become uncomfortable and tight, he looked up to see his boyfriend who was having a similar reaction, Aang stopped his task and slid back, positioning himself just above Zuko's knees, his hand slipping under the waistband of his pants and held his throbbing erection. He could not resist any more, he pulled it out of it tight prison and stroked it for a moment, then began to suck her tenderly, up and down, from the sides, kissing the tip, licking and sucking slowly, Zuko emitted several moans while pronouncing the name from her boyfriend, the pleasure was too much for him; however, he moaned and sighed louder and louder, until he reached his limit and came in Aang's mouth. The young Avatar swallowed all the cum he could and when he finished, he lay down next to his boyfriend breathing heavily in exhaustion, after a brief moment lying on the bed contemplating nothing more than the the room roof, Zuko lowered his gaze and he turned his head to his boyfriend who was lying next to him and was staring at him with a smile. Aang approached to him and rubbed his face against his chest, Zuko imitated his action with the only difference that he covered them both with a blanket and they shared another kiss, as they pulled away, the Fire Lord whispered in his ear “I already noticed that fire can’t survive without air, Aang. I need you”

"So..." Aang asked him as he moved away from him a bit without letting go of his smile "is this what you expected to happen on our vacations?"

“Not at all, but I wouldn’t prefer it any other way” the Fire Lord said, taking back his smile, he hugged Aang and whispered in his ear “also, if we are going to spend two whole weeks here, I wouldn’t mind spending time like this with you, I love you, Aang”

"I love you too, Zuko" the young Avatar replied, after saying that they lay there, on their beds, enjoying the sun that slowly disappeared behind the mountains giving way to dusk. Zuko was right, if they were going to spend two whole weeks in that place and they had to spend their time together as much as possible.


End file.
